
Book .$ £ 3 i~J43 



REMINISCENCES 



THE STOEY OF A.'N EMIGEAS'T 



HAKS mattso:n^ 

Late Consul General of the United States, in India 



SAINT PAUL 

D. D. MERRILL COMPANY 

1892 



25 3^4-3 



l:U5i 



Copyrighted 1891 

BY 

D. D. MERRILL COMPANY 

ST. PAUL, MINN. 



All Rights Reserved 




NOTE. 

These recollections were written from memory in such 
leisure moments as the author could spare from a busy life, 
and published in the Swedish language nearly a year ago. 
They were intended solely for Swedish readers in the mother 
country and America, but since their publication in that 
language it has been urged by many that they ought to be 
made accessible to English readers also. And this princi- 
pally in order that the children of the old Swedish emigrants 
w^ho are more familiar with the English than the Swedish 
language, may have an opportunity to learn something of 
the early struggles of their lathers in this country. 

At the same time it was thought that the American reader 
in general might take pleasure in following the fortunes of 
one of the many emigrants, who owes whatever he has ac- 
complished in life to the opportunities offered by the free in- 
stitutions of this country, and that it would especially in- 
terest him to read the account of oriental life, religion and 
characteristics as seen by the author during his residence in 
the wonderful land of the Hindoos. 

As to literary finish no claim is made. In afew instances of 
a descriptive nature recourse has been had to the accounts of 
other observers. In all other respects the story is a plain 
recital of the personal experiences of the author, told with- 
out pretensions as an humble contribution by an emi- 
grant to the history of the emigrants, and of the settle- 
ment of the Great West. 

H. MATTSON. 

Minneapolis, Minn., October, 1891. 



CHAPTER I. 



Ancestry and country home in Sweden —Home influences — My first school 
years— Christmas — Military life — Departure for America. 



My childhood passed so quietly and smoothly that it 
would be superfluous to mention it at all, except for the fact 
that such omission would leave a gap in these reminiscences. 
For this reason, and, also, in order that the American reader 
may get some idea of a good country home in Sweden, I 
shall relate very briefly some incidents from that time. 

My parents belonged to one of those old families '^f pro- 
prietary farmers, whose spirit of independence and never 
failing love of liberty, have, from time immemmorial, placed 
Sweden, as a land of constitutional liberty, in the front rank 
among all the countries of the Old World. 

Like the descendants of the old Scotch clans the ancestors 
of my father were noted for certain physical and mental 
qualities, which made them prominent among the inhabi- 
tants of the district of Villand, Skane, where most of them 
had their home. They were independent freeholders and 
were generally reckoned among the leading men of their dis- 
trict. They were large and strong with broad shoulders, 
hieh and broad foreheads and other familv characteristics. 
The christian names of the male members were generally 
Bonde, Trued, Lars, Matts, and Hans, and the family can be 
traced back in the parish records for more than two hundred 
years. 



2 Story of an Emigrant. 

My mother was born on the island of Ifo, my father's fam- 
ily also came from that island and were the owners of the 
estate described by Du Chaillu in his "Land of the Midnight 
Sun" with the remarkable crypt built by Bishop Andreas 
Suneson* and the estate still belongs to a second cousin of 
mine. My father inherited a small sum of money for which^ 
at the time of his marriage, he bought a land in the parish 
of Onnestad near the city of Kristianstad. On this property 
he built a small house, barn, etc., and on the south side of the 
former a small flower garden was laid out at either end ot 
which my father planted a spruce tree, one of which grew up 
into a fine, big tree, the only one of its kind in the whole neigh- 
borhood, and to which I shall refer farther on. In this unpre- 
tending little cabin I was born Dec. 23d, 1832, and under its 
lowly but peaceful roof I spent the first years of my child- 
hood, together with an elder sister and a younger brother. 

I can yet distinctly remember many incidents from my 
childhood as far back as my third and fourth year; all these 
memories are dear and exceedingly pleasant to me. There 
was no discord, no cause for sorrow and tears in my home 
during the time of my childhood. Everything bore the 
stamp of peace and calm, emanating from that spirit of gen- 
uine old Swedish honesty and sincere piety, which animated 
my parents. One of mj'- very first recollections is of my 
father reading aloud the beautiful hymn: 

" The morning light shall wake me 
To the strains of sacred song," etc., 

At the age of six my schooling commenced under the guid- 
ance of an itinerant schoolmaster by name of Bergdahl, who 
taught small children at their homes, stopping one day foi 
each child at every house and keeping on in that way the 
whole term which lasted from three to four months. Old 
Bergdahl was a good and sensible man, far superior to the 

•Note: Vol 2, page 448. 



Story of an Emigrant. 3 

average men of his class. He seldom punished his pupils ex- 
cept by appealing to their better nature, and still maintained 
the best discipline that I have ever seen in any school of even 
greater pretensions. 

My parents were doing well on their little farm, which 
they sold about this time, buying a larger one on the Onne- 
stad Hills. Here they erected larger and more commodious 
buildings. 




OUR HOME. 

Near the house was a park, a creek, and some large rocks, 
all of which afforded welcome play-ground, and soon made 
this place dearer to me than the old home. We were fol- 
lowed by the school-master who also settled down in our 
neighborhood, I continued reading another year under his 
guidance, after which I attended a private school, and at the 
age of eight was sent to the village school that was super- 
intended by a lady teacher, a normal school graduate, who 
was considered one of the best teachers in that part of tb.e 
country. My parents, desiring a more extensive field for 
their activity, also rented a large farm, called Kellsagard, 
near the village church, and we now moved into a still larger 
and better house. Meanwhile I continued mv attendance at 



4, Story of an Emigrant. 

the village school until I had learned all that was taught 
there. During the vacations I worked on my father's farm 
at such light work as was suited to my age and strength. I 
had a decided fancy for horses, of which my father raised a 
large number, and was always happy for a chance to ride or 
drive in company with the hired men, and after my twelfth 
year 1 used to break the young colts to the saddle. At the 
same time I had a great taste for reading and never intended 
to remain long on the farm, but was always meditating on 
getting a higher education, which would prepare me for a 
larger field of action than a country farm could offer. At 
the age of fourteen I was sent to another school, located 
about three miles from my home. Here I was instructed in 
the common branches, and in a short time passed through 
the whole course of studies. I also received instruction from 
Rev. S. N. Hasselquist, who has played such a prominent 
part in the Swedish Lutheran Church of America, and took 
private lessons in arithmetic and writing of Mr. S. J. Will- 
ard, a bright young teacher, who afterwards married my 
only sister, and finally became my companion during our 
pioneer life in Minnesota. 

Our last home offered many conveniences; the house was 
well furnished, and so large that the second story could be 
rented most of the time, and it was occupied alternately by 
a clergyman with his family, and a captain of the army. 
These people, and our numerous city friends, exerted a refin- 
ing and elevating influence on the farm surroundings, and 
our home was widely noted for its hospitality. My father 
was a kind-hearted, noble-minded man, and was liked by all 
who knew him. My mother was a woman of strong char- 
acter, and wielded a great influence over her surroundings. 
She managed a household of forty to fifty persons, and on 
Sundays there was always an extra table set for friends and 
visitors. Her good-will, however, extended not only to our 



Story of an Emigrant. 5 

pleasant associates, but also to the poor, the suffering and 
the unfortunate. I cannot recall any period of my childhood 
when we did not harbor some poor, forsaken pauper, waif, 
orphan or cripple in my father's house. 

Christmas has always been, and is yet, the greatest of all 
festivities or holidays among all the Scandinavian peoples. 
It is not merely a holiday like it is among Americans, but a 
festival lasting for many days. While the people in the dif- 
ferent localities of the Scandinavian countries, at the time of 
my childhood, differed in many customs, they were all alike 
in making this season one of joyous hospitality, blended 
with religious worship. I shall endeavor to describe Christ- 
mas as celebrated in my home in Southern Sweden 50 years 
ago, and I venture to sav that while matters of detail mi^ht 
differ in different parts of the country, the descriptions as a 
whole will apply to them all. The preparations for Christ- 
mas commenced in the beginning of December by butchering, 
brewing and baking, so as to lay in large stores of the essen- 
tial elements for enjoyment and hospitality. The fattened 
animals were slaughtered, the tallow made into candles, the 
meat salted, smoked, and otherwise prepared for a whole 
year. The rich brown Yule-ale was made in large quantities, 
and poured in kegs and barrels. Bread of many varieties 
was baked for days and days, and stored away in proper 
places, a large share of it bemg intended for the poor, who 
began their rounds of calls a week before Christmas, receiv- 
ing presents of brown and white loaves, large cuts of meats 
and cheese, rolls of sausage, etc. The school-master, the 
parish mid-wife, the village night watchman, and other 
semi-public characters of small degree were carefully remem- 
bered at this time. The village tailor with his journeymen 
and apprentices appeared a few weeks before Christmas and 
made the wearing apparel for the family and servants out 
of home-spun fabrics for the whole year. The village shoe- 



6 Story of an Emigrant. 

maker with his crowd of workmen followed close upon the 
former, and made up the boots and shoes out of leather 
which had been prepared to order, finishing up by repairing 
the stable harnesses, sometimes making new ones. It was a 
busy season; the house-wife was kept astir early and late 
to give directions, and superintending all these things. 

Finally the day of Christmas Eve came, on which ever\- 
thing must be in readiness, pans and kettles be scoured, 
floors scrubbed and strewn with white sand and fresh juni- - 
per twigs, even the stables for the cattle receiving an extra 
scrubbing. The yard was swept and every nook and corner 
of the premises put in holiday attire, and last of all, the * 
hired men and girls were expected to retire to their respect- 
ive quarters for a similar cleaning, and make their appear- 
ance about five o'clock in the afternoon in clean linen and new 
clothes, ready for the great event, as for a marriage feast. 
In the mean time pots and kettles were boiling on the hearth 
in the great kitchen, baskets were being filled and sent off to 
the poor who were too feeble to call for their gifts; the fam- 
ily and servants contenting themselves that day with a 
lunch, well known all over Sweden as dopparebrod. It being 
now dark, the longtable was set in the large common room. 
The whitest linen, the finest plate, plenty of fresh white 
bread, and two or three home-made cheeses, baskets of cake, 
and large decanters containing sweet ale, ornamented the 
table. In front of the seats of husband and wife was placed 
a large home-made tallow candle with as many branches as 
there were members of the family. Other candles were 
placed in candle-sticks or chandeliers, so that there was an 
abundance of light, in commemoration of the Great Light 
which came into the world on that eve. There was also a 
Christmas tree decorated with ribbons, llowers, confection- 
ery and burning tapers. The lighting of the candles was 
the signal for all to come to the feast. That evening at least 



Story of an Emigrant. 7 

there was no distinction as to persons. The lowest servant- 
boy had his seat, and received the same attention as the 
children or members of the family. When all were seated a 
Christmas prayer was offered by the head of the family, 
after which a hymn was sung, in which all joined; then were 
brought in from the kitchen great dishes of "Lut Fisk," 
served with drawn butter and mustfird sauce; after that a 
roast of beef or pork, and at last the Yule-mush. About the 
time that this was finished, some one who had quietly 
stepped outside returned in the disguise of Santa Claus, and 
threw baskets full of Christmas presents on the floor. The 
children and younger servants made a scramble for these, 
amid shouts of hilarious joy and distributed them according 
to the directions written on each bundle. No one was for- 
gotten. Then at the table followed cakes with sweet wine 
or punch, and nuts and apples, all of which v^as enjoyed 
hugely and deliberately, so that it was often ten o'clock 
before the tables were cleared. The remainder of the even- 
ing was spent in quiet amusments, such as telling stories 
about princes and princesses, giants and trolls, conundrums, 
tricks with cards, etc., and seldom did the happy circle break 
up until nearly mid-night. 

Christmas day was considered a very holy day. There 
were no visits made, no work done except of the greatest 
necessity, such as feeding the animals and keeping up the 
fires; no cooking was done on that day, but meals were 
served mostly cold from the delicious head cheese, pork roast 
and other delicacies, which had been prepared beforehand. 
The greatest event of all the season, and in fact of the whole 
vear, was the early service (ottesang) in the parish church, 
at five o'clock on Christmas morning. Hundreds of candles 
were lighted in chandeliers and candlesticks. The altar was 
covered with gold embroidered cloth ; the floor was strewn 
with fresh twigs of juniper, and soon the people began to 



8 Story of an Emigrant. 

assemble. They came from every house and hamlet, in 
sleighs with tinkling bells, on horseback, and on foot along 
every road and winding pathway, usually in groups, swelling 
as the parties and the roads intersected, many carrying lan- 
terns or burning pine-knots to light the way. Everywhere 
the greeting, "Happy Christmas" was heard, but all with 
joyful solemnity. Outside the church the burning torches 
were thrown in a pile which formed a blaze that could be 
seen a long distance off. The church was soon crowded ; 
then the solemn tones of the organ burst forth ; the organist 
led in the beautiful hymn, "Var halsad skona morgon 
stund " (Be greeted joyful morning hour), in which every 
member of the congregation joined, until the temple was 
filled with theirunited voicessothat thewalls almost shook. 
And when the minister ascended the pulpit, clad in his sur- 
plice and black cape, he had before him a most devout con- 
gregation. Of course the sermon was about the Messiah, 
who was born in the stable, and placed in the manger at 
Bethlehem. The next service was at ten o'clock, and the rest 
of the day was spent quietly at home by everybody. 

On the next day, called Second Day Christmas, the previous 
solemnity was discarded, and the time for visiting and social 
enjoyments commenced. 

The one permanent virtue most conspicuous during the 
whole Christmas season, which in those days extended way 
into the month of January, was hospitality, and next to that 
or linked with it, charity. It seemed that the heart of every 
one expanded until it took in every fellow creature high and 
low, and even the brute animals. Many and many were the 
loaves of bread, grain and meal thrown out purposeU"- for 
the birds or stray dogs that might be hungry, and manj' o," 
thefarmers followed the beautiful Norwegian custom of plac- 
ing sheaves of oats and barley on thereof of their barns that 
t!i * poor birds might also. enjoy Christmas. 



Story of an Emigrant. 9 

But there were also other ennobling influences which sur- 
rounded and emanated from our home, and I recollect most 
Tividly those connected with nature. The house was sur- 
rounded by a large beautiful garden, with choice flowers and 
fruit, fine grass plats and luxurient trees, the branches of 
which were alive with singing birds, the most noted among 
these being the nightingale, which every summer filled the 
garden with sweet melody. 

Of the incidents of my childhood I will mention a few, 
which have left the most vivid impression on my mind: 

Once my parents took me along to see the king, who was 
to pass by on the highway a short distance from our home. 
The people from the country around had congregated by 
thousands to see his majesty. Most of them, however, did 
not get a chance to see anything but a large number of car- 
riages each of which was drawn by four or six horses, and 
postillions and servants in splendid liveries. In the midst 
of this confusion I, however, succeeded in catching a glimpse 
of King Oscar I, as he passed by. In my childish mind I had 
fancied that the king and his family and all others, in author- 
ity were the peculiar and elect people of the Almighty, but 
after this event which produced avery decided impression on 
me, I began to entertain serious doubts as to the correctness 
of my views on this matter. 

At another time I went with my mother to the city of 
Kristianstad to hear the Rev. Doctor P. Fjellstedt, who had 
just returned from a missionary tour in India. I can never 
forget how eloquently he described the Hindoos, and the 
Brahmin idolatrv, all of which aroused in me an eag-er lonsr- 
ing to visit the wonderful country and learn to know its 
pecuhar people. But httle did I then dream that I was to 
go there thirty-six years later as the representative of the 
greatest country of the world. 

At one time I went in company with my mother to the 



10 Stoay of an Emigrant. 

Danish capital, Copenhagen, we being among the first 
Swedish families that traveled by rail, for we took the rail- 
road from Copenhagen to Roskilde, the same being finished 
several years before any railroads were built in Sweden. 

In the summer of 1847, shortly after my confirmation, I 
was properly supplied with wardrobe and other necessaries, 
and saying good-bye to the happy and peaceful home of my 
childhood, I left for the city of Kristianstad to enter the Latin 
school. In kissing me good-bye my mother urged on me 
the precious words, which she had inherited from her mother: 
" Do right and fear nothing." 

When I entered this school I was fourteen years and a-half 
old, tall of stature and well developed for my age, and, like 
other country children, somewhat awkward in dress and 
behavior. 

My schoolmates welcomed me by giving me a nick -name, 
and trying to pick a quarrel with me, which they also suc- 
ceeded in doing, and before the end of the first day a drawn 
battle had been fought, after which they never troubled me 
again. The principal study in this school was Latin, early 
and late, to which was soon added German, and at the close 
of the second year, Greek, French, history, geograph}^ and 
other common branches. I made rapid progress, was 
awarded a prize at my first examination, and finished the 
work of two classes in two years, only about half the usual 
time. 

During those two years, and even before that time, I had 
a peculiar presentiment that I would have to make great 
mental and physical exertions in the future, and that it was 
necessary for me to prepare for whatever might happen. 
Therefore, I often chose the hard floor for my bed and a book 
for a pillow. At times I would take long walks without 
eating and drinking, and let my room-mates strike my chest 
with their fists until it was swollen and inflamed. I even 



Story of an Emigrant. 11 

tried how long I could go without food, and still not lose 
ray mental and physical vigor. 

When I was sixteen years old, an event took place which 
had a decisive influence on my whole life. 

A captain of the army boarded at my father's home, and 
was regarded as a member of the family. Among his 
acquaintances was a young man of my own age, who also 
had the same christian name as I. One day this young man 
came to see the captain, and as he approached the house my 
mother and sister observing him, both exclaimed at the 
same time, "There is Hans!" He heard this, and was 
greatly surprised that they knew him, while the fact was 
that they mistook him for me. At that time I was in the 
city, but the next day this second Hans visited me, and told 
me of the incident. If there is such a thing as affinity 
between men, it certainly existed between him and me ; we 
felt ourselves irresistibly drawn towards each other, and 
from that day we have been more than brothers, and noth- 
ing but death can separate us. We are of the same size, 
complexion and age. He had already served a short time as 
cadet in the artillery, but had been compelled to resign on 
account of poor health. Now he had recovered and entered 
service again as a volunteer in the infantry. The events of 
my life are so closely interwoven with this man and his life, 
that the reader will often hear of him in these pages. Right 
here I wish to state, that a more faithful friend and a more 
noble character cannot be found ; he has always been a help 
' and a comfort to me in the many and strange vicissitudes 
which we have shared together. His name is Hans Eus- 
trom, better known in Minnesota as Captain Eustrom. 

The first Danish-German war broke out about this time, 
andl,with many other youths, felt a hearty sympathy for the 
Danes. The Swedish government resolved to send troops to 
help their neighbors, and a few regiments marching through 



12 Story of an Emigrant. 

ourcityfanned ouryouthful enthusiasm into flame. Finally, 
a detachment of the artillery, quartered in the city, was or- 
dered to leave for the seat of war, and now I could no longer 
restrain myself, but besieged my parents to let me join that 
part of the army which was going to the battlefield, and 
to clinch the argument I was cruel enough to send word to 
my distressed mother that if she would not consent I would 
run away from home and join the army anyway. This last 
argument made her yield, and in the fall of 1849 1 became an 
artillery cadet, being then in my seventeenth year. But al- 
though I won this victory over my mother, whose greatest 
desire was that I should become a clergyman, she in turn 
gained a victory over me by persuading the surgeon of the 
batallion, who was also our family ph^-^sician, to declare me 
sick and send me to the hospital, although I had only a slight 
cold ; thus my plan to go with the army to Schleswig-Hol- 
stein was frustrated. This did not make much difference, 
however, as the war was virtually closed before our troops 
arrived at the place of destination, and my time could now 
be more profitably employed in learning the duties of a sol- 
dier, and in taking a course of mathematics and other prac- 
tical branches at the regimental school. 

1 remained in the army a year and a-half, during which 
time I received excellent instruction in gymnastics, fencing 
and riding, besides the regular military drill. Two winters 
were thus devoted to conscientious and thorough work at 
the military school. 

Knowing that the chances for advancement in the Swedish 
army during times of peace were at this time very slim for 
young men not favored with titles of nobility, and being also 
tired of the monotonous garrison life, my friend Eustrom 
and myself soon resolved to leave the service and try our 
luck in a country where inherited names and titles were not 
the necessarv conditions of success. 



Story of an Emigrant 13 

At that time America was little known in our part of the 
country, only a few persons having emigrated from the whole 
district. But we knew that it was a new country, inhabited 
by a free and independent people, that it had a liberal gov- 
ernment and great natural resources, and these inducements 
were sufficient for us. My parents readily consented to my 
emigration, and, having made the necessary preparations, 
my father took my friend Eustrom and myself down to the 
coast with his own horses, in the first part of May, 1851. 
It was a memorable evening, and I shall never forget the 
last farewell to my home, in driving out from the court into 
the village street, how I stood up in the wagon, turned to- 
wards the dear home and waved my hat with a hopeful 
hurrah to the "folks I left behind." A couple of days' jour- 
ney brought us to a little seaport, where we took leave of 
my father and boarded a small schooner for the city of 
Gothenburg. 

At that time there were no ocean steamers and no emigrant 
agents; but we soon found a sailing vessel bound for America 
on which we embarked as passengers, furnishing our own 
bedding, provisions and other necessaries, which our mothers 
had supplied in great abundance. About one hundred and 
fifty emigrants from different parts of Sweden were on board 
the brig Ambrosius. In the middle of May she weighed 
anchor and ghded out of the harbor on her long voyage 
across the ocean to distant Boston. 

We gazed back at the vanishing shores of the dear father- 
land with feelings of affection, but did not regret the step 
we had taken, and our bosoms heaved with boundless hope. 
At the age of eighteen, the strong, healthy youth takes a 
bright and hopeful view of life, and so did we. Many and 
i>cauti^ul were the air-castles we built as we stood on deck, 
with our eyes turned towards the promised land of the 
Nineteenth century. To some of these castles our lives have 
given reality, others are still floating before us. 



CHAPTER IT. 



Arrival at Boston — Adventures between Boston and New York — Buffalo 
— An Asylum — Return to New York — A Voyage — On the Farm in New 
Hampshire. 



The good brig Ambrosius landed us in Boston on June 29, 
1851, but during the voyage about one-half of the passen- 
gers were attacked by small-pox and had to be quarantined 
outside the harbor. My good friend and I were fortunate 
enough to escape this plague; but instead of this I was taken 
sick with the ague on our arrival at Boston. 

Now, then, we were in America! The new, unknown 
country lay before us, and it seemed the more strange as we 
did not understand a word of the English language. For at 
that time the schools of Sweden paid no attention to English, 
so that although I had studied four languages, English, the 
most important of all tongues, was entirely unknown to me. 

The first few^ weeks of our stay in Boston passed quietly 
and quickly, but the ague grew worse and my purse was get- 
ting empty. My friend, however, had more money than I^ 
and as long as he had a d oiler left he divided it equally be- 
tween us. I cannot resist the temptation to relate a serio- 
comical escapade of this period, one that to many will recall 
similar occurences in their own experience as immigrants 
ignorant of the language of the country. 

In Gothenburg we had become acquainted with a bright 
young man from Vexio, Janne Tenggren by name, who had 
also served in the array. When we met him he had already 



Story of an Emigrant. 15 

bought a ticket on a sailing vessel bound for New York, so 
that we could not make the voyage together. But we 
agreed to hunt each other up after our arrival in America. 
We left Sweden about the same time with the understanding 
that if we arrived first we should meet him in New York, and 
if he arrived first he should go to Boston to meet us there. 

About a week after our arrival in Boston, we heard that 
the vessel on which he had embarked had arrived, and I 
immediately left for New York to fulfill our promise. But, 
unfortunately, I found he had already gone west, so I bought 
a return ticket to Boston the same day. The journey was 
by steamboat to Fall River, thence by rail to Boston. We 
left New York in the evening. I remained on the deck, and 
went to sleep about ten o'clock on some wooden boxes. 
About eleven o'clock I awoke, saw the steamer laying too, 
and, supposing we were at Fall River, hurried off and fol- 
lowed the largest crowd, expecting thus to get to the railroad 
depot. Striking no depot, however, I returned to the har- 
bor, only to find the steamer gone, and ever\'^body but myself 
had vanished from the pier. 

There I stood, in the middle of the night, without money, 
ignorant of the language, and not even knowing where I 
was! Tired and discouraged I finally threv^r myself down 
on a wooden box on the sidewalk, and went to sleep. About 
five o'clock in the morning a big policeman aroused me by 
poking at me with his club. This respectable incarnation 
of social order evidently took me for a tramp or a madman, 
and as he could not obtain any intelligible information from 
me in any language known to him, he took me to a small 
shoe store kept by a German. 

Fortunately, my acquaintance with the German language 
was sufficient to enable me to explain myself, and I soon 
found that I had left the steamer several hours too early; 
that the name of this place was New London, that another 



16 Story of an Emigrant. 

steamer would come past at the same time the next night, 
so that all I had to do was to wait for that steamer and go 
to Boston on the same ticket. 

I spent the day in seeing the city and chatting with my 
friend, the shoe maker, and in the evening returned to the 
wharf to watch for the Boston steamer. 

This being my ague day, I had violent attacks of ague and 
fever, so that I was again forced to lie down to rest on the 
same wooden box, and again went to sleep. After a while I 
was aroused by the noise of the approaching steamer; rushed 
on board in company with some other passengers, and con- 
sidered myself very fortunate when reflecting that I would 
surely be in Boston the next morning. I had made myself 
familiar with the surroundings during the day, and when 
the steamer started, I noticed that it directed its course 
towards New York, instead of Boston. I had no money to 
pay my fare to New York, could neither borrow nor beg, and 
so I crawled down in a little hole in the fore part of the 
steamer, where the tackles and ropes were kept, thus, for- 
tunately, escaping the notice of the ticket collector. 

The next evening I again embarked for Boston and finally 
arrived safely at my destination. 

We stayed in Boston several weeks, and during that time 
my ague caused a heavy drain on our small treasury. We 
had no definite plan, did not know what to do, and as we 
had never been used to any kind of hard work, matters be- 
gan to assume a serious aspect, especially in regard to my- 
self. But then, as now, the hope of many a j'oung man was 
the Great West which, at that time, was comparatively little 
known even in Boston. Toward the close of the month of 
July we, therefore, went to Buffalo, which was as far as our 
money would carry us. Here we put up at a cheap boarding 
house kept by a Norwegian by name of Larson, with whom 
we stopped while trying to get work. But having learned 



Story of an Emigrant. 17 

no trade and being unused to manual labor, we soon found 
that it was impossible to get a job in the city; so w^e left our 
baggage at the boarding house and started on foot for a 
country place named Hamburg, some ten miles distant- 
where we learned that two of our late companions across 
the ocean had found employment. On the road to Hamburg, 
about dusk, we reached a small house by the wayside, where 
we asked for food and shelter. I was so exhausted that my 
friend had to support me in order to reach the house. We 
found it occupied by a Swedish family, which had just sat 
down to a bountiful supper. Telling them our condition, we 
were roughly told to clear out ; in Sweden, they said, they 
had had enough of gentlemen and would have nothing to do 
with them here. 

We retraced our steps with sad hearts until a short dis- 
tance beyond the house we found an isolated barn partly 
filled with hay. There was no one to object, so we took 
possession and made it our temporary home. I am glad to 
say that during a long life among all classes of people, from 
the rudest barbarians to the rulers of nations, that family of 
my own countrymen were the only people who made me 
nearly lose faith in the nobler attributes of man. I have an 
excuse,however,for thisconduct inthefactthat inthemother- 
country, which they had left ayear before, they had probably 
been abused and exasperated on account of the foolish class 
distinction then existing there. They evidently belonged to 
that class of tenants who were treated almost like slaves. 
The following day we found our late companions a mile 
from our barn, both working for a farmer at $15.00 per 
month, which was then considered big wages. They were 
older men and accustomed to hard labor, so that their situ- 
ation was comparatively easy. They received us kindly and 
procured work for Eustrom with the same farmer, while I, 
still suffering with the ague, could not then attempt to work. 



18 Story of an Emigrant. 

and therefore returned to my castle in the meadow, (the hay- 
barn). There I remained about a week living on berries 
which I found in the neighboring woods and a slice of bread 
and butter, which Eustrom brought me in the evening, when, 
with blistered hands and sore back, he called to comfort me 
and help build better air castles for the future. 

A council was finally held among us four, and it was de- 
cided to send me back to Buffalo with a farmer who was 
going there the following morning. One of the men Mr. 
Abraham Sandberg on parting gave me a silver dollar, with 
the injunction to give it to someone who might need it worse 
than I, whenever I could do so. I have never met Abraham 
again ; but I have regarded it as a sacred duty to comply 
with his request, and, in case these lines should come before 
his eyes I wish to let him know that my debt has been hon- 
estly paid. 

On reaching the old boarding house in Buffalo the landlord 
promised that he would send me to a hospital where I could 
receive proper treatment and care. I made up a little bundle 
of necessary underwear, and in an hour a driver appeared 
at the door; I was lifted into the cart and off we went 
through the muddy streets to the outskirts of the city, where 
I was duly delivered at a large building which I supposed to 
be the hospital. It was near evening, and I was brought 
into a large dining-room, with a hundred others or more, 
served with supper, corn mush and molasses water, after 
which I was shown to a bed in a large room among many 
others. I suffered with fever, and for the first time in my life 
with loneliness. Exhausted nature finally took out its due, 
and I slept soundly until awakened in the morning by a loud 
sound of a gong. As soon as dressed I walked out in the 
3'ard, or lawn, back of the building. On one side was a high 
plank fence, behind which I heard some strange sounds. 1 1 
found a knot-hole, and, peeping through this, I observed, 



Story of an Emigrant. 19 

another lawn, on which were many people. They were 
strange looking; I never saw any like them before. Some 
were swinging, some dancing, others shouting, singing and 
weeping and behaving in a most out-of-the-way manner. I 
wondered and wondered, and finally it dawned upon me 
that it must be a lunatic asylum. It was, in fact, as I since 
learned, the county poor farm, where one part was used for 
the lunatics and the other for paupers like myself. Has it 
come to this? I asked myself, is this the goal of all my 
ambition and hopes? Going back to the room, where I had 
slept, I stealthily took my little bundle, slipped out through 
a side door into a back yard, found a gate open and was 
soon in the street. I started on a run with all the power in 
me, as if pursued by all the furies of paupers and lunatics, 
never stopping until I was near the old boarding house, 
where I was taken in exhausted and in deep despair. I 
would have killed the landlord for deceiving me if I had been 
able to do so. One good thing resulted from the sad expe- 
rience of that day: the mental shock on discovering where 
I was, cured me for the time being of the ague. 

The next day my friend returned from Hamburg, where he 
could no longer get any employment on account of his blis 
tered hands, and poor health in general. We now put our 
wise heads together and agreed that w^e had already h^tci 
enough of the West for the time being. Having plent_y of 
good clothes, bedding, revolvers and other knick-knacks, we 
sold to our landlord whatever we could spare, in order to 
raise money enough to pay our way back to Boston. 

During our stay in Buffalo, our renowned countrvwoman, 
Jenny Lind, happened to give a concert there. We were 
standing on the street where we could see the people crowd 
into the theatre, but that was all we could afford, and we 
never heard her sing. Our host advised us to go and ask 
her for help ; but our pride forbade it. 



20 Stosy of an Emigrant. 

At this time the Swedes were so little known, and Jenny 
Lind, on the other hand, so renowned in America, that the 
Swedes were frequently called "Jenny Lind men," this desig- 
nation being often applied to myself. 

Having purchased tickets for Albany, we returned East in 
the month of August. I still remember how we rode all 
night in a crowded second-class car, listening to the noisy 
merry-making of our fellow-passengers; but we understood 
very little of it, for up to this time we had lived exclusively 
among our own countrymen, and learned only a few English 
words — a mistake, by the way, which thousands of immi- 
grants have made and are still making. 

Arriving at Albany, we sat down by an old stone wall 
near the railroad depot, to talk over our affairs. Fate had 
been against us while we remained together, and we prob- 
ably depended too much upon each other. Accordingly, we 
decided to part for some time and try our luck separately ; 
and if one of us met with success he would, of course, soon 
be able to find a position for the other. We decided by 
drawing lots that Eustrom should go to Boston and I to 
New York. When we had bought our tickets there remained 
one dollar, which we divided, and we left for our respective 
places of destination the same evening. 

Our landlord in Buffalo had given us the address of a sail- 
ors' boarding-house in New York, which was also kept by a 
Norwegian by the same name of Larson. So when I left the 
Hudson River steamer early the next morning, I paid my 
half-dollar to a drayman, who took me to said boarding 
house. I found Mr. Larson to be a kind, good-natured man, 
told him my ditbculties right out, and asked him to let me 
stop at his house until I could find something to do. He 
agreed to this, and for a week or so I tried my best to get 
work. But, when asked what kind of work I could do, I 
was compelled to answer that I had learned no trade, but 



Story of an Emigrant. 21 

tliat I would gladly try to learn anything and do anything 
whatever, even sweep the streets, if necessary. As a result 
of my protracted sickness, I was so weak and exhausted 
that nobody thought I would be able even to earn my bread. 
As to easy or intellectual work, I had no earthly chance, as 
long as I did not know the English language. Finally Mr. 
Larson took me to a ship-owner's office. I still remember 
that a Norwegian captain was cruel enough to remark in 
my hearing, that he did not intend to take any half-dead 
corpses along with him to sea. 

After two weeks of fruitless efforts to get work for me, 
my host finally declared that he could not very well keep me 
any longer, because his accommodations were crowded with 
paying customers ; nevertheless, he allowed me to sleep in 
the attic free of charge, while I had to procure ray food as 
best I could, which 1 also did for another t^vo weeks. Being 
a convalescent, I had a ravenous appetite, and, indeed, I 
found how hard it is to obtain food without having an v thing: 
to pay for it. Of the few articles of clothing which I brought 
with me from Buffalo, I had to sacrifice one after another for 
subsistence. When all other means were exhausted, I was 
compelled to go to the kitchen-doors and tell my desperate 
and unfortunate condition by signs, and more than one 
kind-hearted cook gave me a solid meal. 

Tramps ! In our day there is a great deal of talk about 
tramps, and it has become customary, to brand as a tramp, 
any poor wandering laborer who seeks work. There are 
undoubtedly many who justly deserve this title; but I think 
there are tramps who are not to blame for their deplorable 
condition, and who deserve encouragement and friendly 
assistance, for I have been one of them myself, without any 
fault or neglect on my part. It always provokes mc to hear 
ayoung or inexperienced person use the expression " tramp " 
BO thoughtlessly, and in such a sweeping manner. Long ago 



23 Story of an Emigrant. 

I made up my mind that no tramp should ever leave my door 
without such aid as my resources would allow. It is better 
to give to a thousand undeserving, than to let one unfortu- 
nate but deserving suffer. 

My good host, like his Buffalo namesake, finally contrived 
to get rid of me by representing me as a sailor, and hiring 
me to the captain of the bark " Catherine," a coasting vessel 
bound for Charleston, S. C, telling me that I was to serve 
as cabin boy. My wages were to be five dollars a month, 
of which he received seven dollars and a-half in advance, so 
that I could pa}' my debts and buy a sailor's suit of clothes. 

On the second day of our voyage we encountered a storm. 
I was on deck w^ith the sailors and the captain stood on the 
quarter-deck. We were coursing against the wind and were 
just going to turn when the captain called on me to untie some 
ropes. Understanding very little English, and being no sailor, 
I naturally knew nothing about the names of the different 
ropes, and I grabbed one after another, but invariably 
missed the right one. The captain was swearing with 
might and main in English. Seeing that I did not under- 
stand him he suddenly roared out angrily the name of the 
rope in good Swedish and added: "Do you understand me 
now, you confounded blockhead!" Turning to him, cap in 
hand, I answered: "No, captain, I do not know the name 
of a single rope." "And still," he continued "you have fol- 
lowed the sea three years, what a dunce you are." I 
answered: "Indeed Mr. Captain, I have never been a sailor, 
and will never be worth anything at sea. But I am willing 
and anxious to do all you ask if within my power." The 
captain, whose name was Wilson, was a Swedish American 
and, although somewhat gruff", he was in fact one of the 
noblest men who ever commanded a ship. He immediately 
saw how the matter stood ; the boarding house man had 



Story of an Emigrant. 23 

cheated both him and me and from thai hour Captain Wil- 
son became my friend and benefactor. 

Afterwards I found out ot the whole crew, which numbered 
twenty-six men, nine-tenths were Scandinavii.ns, but they 
always used the English language while on board the ship. 
Captain Wilson told me to see him in his cabin as soon as 
the work was performed. Here he asked me about my 
circumstances, and I told him the short story of my life, 
which elicited his sympathy to such an extent that he even 
asked me to pardon his rude behavior toward me. He as- 
signed me to a place to sleep in the cabin ; told the officers 
not to give me any orders as he was going to do that him- 
self, and treated me with the utmost kindness and consider- 
ation in every respect. 

After this I was excused from all work properly belonging 
to a sailor, but kept the cabin in order, and helped the stew- 
ard in waiting at the table, and the officers with their cal- 
culations. During my spare hours I read and conversed 
with the captain and his two mates, one of whom was a 
Dane and the other an Irishman, both splendid fellows. The 
first mate was preparing the second mate for a captain's 
examination, and I, having recently taken a course in mathe- 
matics, at a military school, was able to assist them in their 
studies. 

On the table in the cabin was a large English Bible, with 
which I spent many happy hours, and by which I learned 
the English language. At first I used to pick out chapters 
of the New Testament, which I knew almost by heart, so 
that I could understand them without a dictionary or an 
interpreter. After my first conversation with the captain I 
did not speak another word in the Swedish language during 
the voyage, and when I returned to Boston, three months 
afterwards, it seemed to me that I could talk and read 
English about as well as Swedish. 



24 Story of an Emigrant. 

I made two trips with the captain from New York to 
Charleston and back again. At tlie wharf o( Charleston, I 
was, for the first time in my life, brought face to lace with 
American Negro slavery in its most odious aspect. Crowds 
of Negroes were running along the pier pulling long ropes, by 
means of which the ships were loaded and unloaded. Each 
gang of Negroes was under the charge of a brutal overseer, 
riding on a mule, and brandishing a long cowhide whip, 
which he applied vigorously to the backs of the half-naked 
Negroes. During the night they were kept penned up in 
sheds, which had been erected for that purpose near the 
wharf. They were treated like cattle, in every respect. This 
sight influenced me in later life to become a Republican in 
politics. 

After our second return to New York, Capt. Wilson 
assumed the command of one of the first clipper ships 
which carried passengers to California in those days. 
This was at the most stirring time of the gold fever, and 
the captain kindly offered to take me along and let me stay 
out there, an offer which thousands would have accepted. 
But I was never smitten with the gold fever, and, having a 
distaste for the sea, I said good-bye to the kind captain, 
never to see him again. My wages were to have been only 
five dollars a month, but he generously paid me eight 
dollars, so that I had earned enough money to pay my way 
to Boston, whence my friend Eustrom had written me and 
urged me to come. 

I arrived in Boston about the middle of December, and, 
when I returned to the old boarding house, I spoke English 
so well that my acquaintenances hardly believed it possible 
that I could be the same person. Mr. Eustrom was now 
working as wood polisher. He had made many friends and 
lived happily and contented on $4 a week. By strict 
economy these wages sufficed for board, lodging, and clothes. 



Story of an Emigrant. 25 

It happened to be an unfavorable time of the year when I 
arrived, however, and many men who had been employed 
during the summer were now discharged at the approach of 
winter. Mr. Eustrom's, employer had a good friend in New 
Hampshire, an old Swedish sailor, Anderson by name, who 
was farming np there. He promised to let me come and live 
with him and do whatever chores I could until something 
might turn up the next spring. 

A few days afterwards I went by rail to Contocook where 
I was met by Mr. Anderson, who took me out to his hospi- 
table home a couple of miles from the town. This Anderson 
was a remarkable man. Having no education to speak of, 
he was a better judge of human nature and practical affairs 
of life than any other man I ever met. He was pleased wath 
me, and said he wished I would sit down in the evening and 
tell him about Sweden, and explain to him what I had learned 
at school. Poor Anderson ! He had one fault, rum got the 
better of him, and it was cheap in New England at that time, 
only sixteen cents a gallon. He bought a barrel of it at a 
lime, and did not taste water as long as the rum lasted. 

The day after my arrival he asked me if I would like to go 
with him into the woods to help cut some logs. Of course I 
would, and we took our axes and started off. It was a very 
cold December day, and I had thin clothes and no mittens. 
Mr. Anderson went to cut down a tree, and I commenced to 
work at one which was already felled. This was the first 
time I swung an axe in earnest, and after a short while I felt 
that my hands were getting cold. But I made up my mind 
not to stop until the log was finished. By holding the axe 
handle very tight it stopped the circulation of the blood 
through my fingers, and when I finally stopped and dropped 
the axe I could not move my fingers, for eight of them were 
frozen stiff. Mr. Anderson now took off his cap, filled it with 
snow, put my hands into the snow, and thus we ran to the 



26 Story of an Emigrant. 

house as fast as our legs would carry us. The doctor tried 
his very best ; but, nevertheless, in a few days the flesh and 
the nails began to peel off, and two doctors decided to ampu- 
tate all the fingers on my right hand. Fortunately I did not 
give my consent, but told them that I would rather die of 
gangrene than live without hands, for my future depended ex- 
clusively on them. 

My friend Eustrom, having heard of my misfortune, soon 
came to visit me, and brought with him an old Irish woman 
who was something of a doctor, and cured my hands 
by means of a very simple plaster which she prepared 
herself. But I was forced into complete inactivity for 
more than three months, during which time I was entirely 
helpless, and had to be washed, dressed, and fed like an infant. 
But, as to me, the old proverb has always proved true: 
''When things are at the worst they'll mend." There were 
men and women in my accidental home who willingly- 
tended to me in my trouble. May God bless them for it! 
In the latter part of March, Mr. Anderson, who had always 
treated me with the greatest kindness, quite unexpectedly 
told me that I was now able to work again and could try 
to get a place with some other family in the neighborhood, 
because he could not keep me any longer. 

Our nearest neighbor was a genuine Yankee, Daniel Dustin 
bv name. He was very rich, well read, liberal minded, re- 
spectable and honest, but so close that he would scarcely let 
his own family have enough food to eat, and his wife was 
even more stingy. Mr. Dustin agreed to let me work for 
my board until spring, and then he would give me five 
dollars a month, which offer I cheerfully accepted. He im- 
mediately took me out into the woods to chop wood for the 
summer, and he was to haul it home. The new, tender mus- 
cles and nails on my fingers made wood chopping very 
painful to me, and I could feel every blow of the axe through 



Story of an Emigrant. 27 

my entire body. Never has any man worked so hard for 
me, when I afterwards hired help for good wages, as I 
worked for my board here; and, by the way, this board 
consisted chiefly of potatoes and corn meal cake. When the 
spring work commenced I got five dollars a month, and had 
to get up at five o'clock in the morning to do the chores, and 
then work in the field from seven in the morning until dark. 
In thebeginningof Junelgot a letter from my parents, stat- 
ing that my father and brother were going to leave for New 
York immediately, and they asked me to meet them there and 
go West with them. I had never complained in my letters to 
my parents, but, on the other hand, I had not advised them 
to come to America, either. They had been advised to do so 
by some of my fellow-passengers on the " Ambrosius," who 
went to Illinois, and were highly pleased with their pros- 
pects. So I went to Boston again. My father's voyage had 
been delayed, and I had to wait for him over a month, during 
which time I got sick, and would have been in a sorry plight, 
indeed, if it had not been for my friend Eustrom, who now 
felt like a rich man, wnth his six dollars a week. A couple of 
years later he became the partner of his employer. 



CHAPTER III. 

The Arrival of my Father and Brother — Journey to Illinois — Work on a 
Railroad — The Ague — Doctor Ober — Reiijrious Impressions — The Ar- 
rival of my Mother, Sister and her Husloand — A Burning Railroad 
Train — We go to Minnesota — Our Experience as Wood Choppers and 
Pioneers. 



Finally my father and brother arrived, and again I turned 
my course westwards in company with them and their 
friends. We traveled by rail to Buffalo and across the lake 
to Toledo, thence by rail again to Chicago. In the summer 
of 1852 there were no railroads west of Chicago, and our 
company had to take passage on a canal-boat drawn by 
horses to La Salle, and from this place we rode in farmers 
wagons to Andover and Galesburg. The country around 
there was as j'ct only in the first stages of development; 
there was very little money in circulation, and no demand for 
farm products. The immigrants suffered a great deal from 
fever and other climatic diseases. 

My brother w^ho w^as nearly sixteen years old soon ob- 
tained steady work from an American farmer, while my 
father and I had to do different kinds of work, such as build- 
ing fences, stacking grain, etc. The only paj^ we could get 
was checks on some store. I remember what an abundance 
of provisions there was in that locality, and nobody seemed 
to be in need. 

A farmer near Galesburg, for whom I worked a week, had 
so many hens and chickens and eggs, that when people came 
out from town to buy eggs, they were told to pay ten cents, 

—28— 



Story of an Emigrant. 29 

go out to the barn and fill their baskets with freshly-laid 
ec^gs, no matter how big the basket. Beef and pork had 
scarcely any A-alue, and anybody could go into a cornfield 
that fall and gather a crop on half shares. 

There was much religious interest among the Swedes in 
Illinois at that time. The Methodists and Lutherans were 
already building churches, and held services side by side 
in many of the towns and settlements, although they num- 
bered onl3' a few families yet. I remember distinctly one 
Sunday attending service in a Methodist church listening to 
an eloquent preacher, taking for his text "The Broad and 
the Narrow Ways." He depicted both in glowing language, 
and wound up with the following words, pronounced in a 
broad (Swedish) dialect: "My dear brethren, I have now 
shown you the two ways, and you may take which ever you 
like; that is all the same to me." 

My father had taken with him only just enough money to 
pay his way, although he had by no means exhausted his 
resources in Sweden, for he had prudently decided to spend 
at least a year in seeing the country and making himself 
familiar with its institutions, customs, manner of tilling the 
soil, etc. At this time he was a strong man, at the age of 
fifty. In order to obtain steady work, w^e two, and a few 
others of our company, hired a man in Galesburg to take us 
to Rock River, where a bridge for the Chicago & Rock Island 
Railroad was being built. We all got work, and had to take 
hold of the spade and the shovel. The wages in those da^-s 
for railroad laborers were from seventy-five cents to one 
dollar per day. I received only sevent\'-five cents, out of 
which my board was to be paid, wdiich, however, was very 
cheap, one dollar and a half per week only. A. Swede by the 
name of Hoffman kept a boarding house for thirty-four of us, 
and all would have been well except for the ague. No man 
remained there many days without getting the "shakes;" L 



3J Stoky of an Emigrant. 

and my father got them the second day. The lower part of 
the shanty in which we boarded was used for dining-room 
and kitchen, the upper for sleeping on the floor. The shanty 
was as shaky as the ague, which came regularly every other 
day. Fate had so arranged it that seventeen of us had the 
chills one day, and seventeen the next day. Hoft'man and 
his wife fortunateh' also had the chills alternate da^^s, so 
that there was alwaj'S one to attend to the cooking. 

Some may doubt it, but it is a solemn fact, that when 
seventeen ate dinner below, the shaking of those upstairs 
sometimes shook the house until we could hear the plates 
rattling on the table. 

During my healthy days I stood on the bottom of Rock 
River from seven o'clock in the morning until seven at night, 
throwing wet sand with a shovel onto a platform above, 
from which it was again thrown to another, and from there 
to terra firma. The most disagreeable part of the business 
was that one-quarter of each shovel-full came back on the 
head of the operator. 

After a couple of weeks the company's paymaster came 
along, and upon settling my board bill and deducting for the 
shaking days, I made the discovery that I was able to earn 
onh^ fifteen cents net per week in building railroad bridges. 

Being half dead by this time from over work and sickness, 
we decided to see if we could strike an easier job, and, if pos- 
sible, a better climate. We happened to meet a farmer by 
the name of Peterson, with whom we rode to a place near 
Moline, where my father tended to me during m}' illness. 
When he was not occupied with this he chopped cord wood 
from dry old trees. I also tried to assist him in this, but 
found my strength gone. 

Among the Swedes living in Moline at that time was a 
tailor, Johnson by name, a good kind-hearted man w^ho, to- 
gether with his wife, was always ready to aid his needy 



Story of an Emigrant, 31 

countrymen and get something to do for such as could work. 
I went to him one day to ask for advice or assistance, just as 
a great many had done before me. I was so weak and sick- 
ly that they had to assist me in getting into the house, but 
they received me as if I had been their own son, and, after a 
short rest, Mr. Johnson took me to one Dr. Ober, who care- 
fully in vestig£ited my mental as well as my physical condition, 
and told me that such hard work as I had been doing would 
kill me, and that I ought to rest and take it easy. He was 
one of those magnanimous, noble men who are to be met 
with in all climes and walks of life, but who are easih'- rec- 
ognized because they are so few. As I have said before, I 
have been ver\' fortunate in getting acquainted with the best 
men and women of different classes and nations with w^hich 
I have come in contact. While w^e were sitting in his re- 
ception room the doctor suddenly left us and went into his 
private room. In a short time he returned accompanied bv 
his wife, a lady whose silvery locks and benignantly sympa- 
thizing looks made her seem more beautiful tome than a ma- 
donna. Having simply taken a hasty look at me, the doctor 
and his wife again withdrew, and when they returned he 
offered to let me stay with them like a member of the family 
in order that he might try to restore my health; he also 
allowed me to avail rayselfof his library and to attend school, 
the only condition being that I should do chores around the 
house and take care of the horses. 

I moved the same day, got a pleasant room and a snug 
bed, good, substantial food, and, above all, good and 
friendly treatment, so that from the time I came there until 
the day I left, I felt as if I had been a child of the house, 
Dr. Ober, who was a religious man, belonged to the Bap- 
tist Church, and as I now lived under its beneficient influence, 
and also became acquainted with the Swedish Baptist Pas- 
tor, Rev. G. Palmquist, and a few others who constituted 



32 Story of an Emigrant. 

the nucleus of the First Swedish Baptist Church of America, 
I became a member of their society before spring and would 
probably have continued a member of this denomination, if 
circumstances which were beyond my control, had not 
brought me to other fields of action and other surroundings. 

This winter passed in a very pleasant manner. In the 
afternoon I attended an English school, and in the evening I 
gave instructions in English toother youngmen and women. 
The friendship of Dr. Ober and his wife never failed, and 
many years afterwards I was a welcome guest at their home 
in La Crosse, Wis., to which place they had moved from 
Moline. Both of them now slumber under the sod, but their 
manv good deeds shall live for ever. 

My father was much pleased with the great west, and he 
wrote back to the rest of our family in Sweden to come to 
this country the next summer, and in May I started to meet 
them in Boston. As there were norailroads to Moline, Itook 
a steamboat to Galena, and thence the stage-coach to Free- 
port, and from there to Chicago by rail. 

The vessel carrying my mother and the party with her 
was three months on the ocean, and there was great scarcity 
of provisions on board. The ship at last arrived, in the 
month of July, and a couple of da\'^s later the whole party, 
consisting of about two hundred, took the train for the west. 
I volunteering as their guide and interpreter. All went well 
until about one hundred miles east of Chicago, when the 
baggage car attached to our train in front caught fire. 
It was thought best to tr\' to reach a station, and the 
burning train sped on at the rate of sixty miles an hour. 
The scene was a frightful one, the cars crammed full of 
frightened emigrants, the flames hissing like serpents from 
car to car, windows cracking, people screaming, and women 
fainting, all at the same time looking to me, who was not 
yet twenty' years of age, for protection and deliverance. 



Story of an Emigrant. 33 

As soon as possible I placed reliable men as guards at the 
doors to prevent the people from rushing out and crowding- 
each other off the platform. The train did not reach the sta- 
tion but had to be stopped on the open prairie, where \\ e 
all were helped out of the cars with no accident of any kind 
except every particle of baggage, saving only what the pas- 
sengers had in their seats with them, was burnt. In due 
time another train brought us to Chicago, where the rail- 
road company immediately offered to pay all losses as soon 
as lists of the property destroyed could be made out 
and properly verified. I undertook to do all that work 
without the aid of consul, lawyer or clerk, collecting nearly 
twenty thousand dollars, for old trunks, spinning-wheels, 
copper kettles, etc. Having lost nothing m^^self, I of course 
received nothing, and as the Company did not consider ii 
their duty to pay me for my trouble, one of the emigrants 
suggested that they should chip in to compensate me for the 
valuable services I had rendered. Accordingly the hat was 
passed, the collection realizing the magnificent sum of two 
dollars and sixty cents, which -was paid me for being their in- 
terpreterduringthelongjourney, and for collecting that large 
sum of money without litigation or dela3\ No lawyer, consul 
oragent would have been satisfied with less than five hundred 
dollars, but I can truthfully say that I never raised a word 
of complaint, but freely forgave the people on account of 
their ignorance. Many of them I also served afterwards on 
the way to Moline and Minnesota. In due time our party 
arrived in Moline, where my parents bought a small piece 
of property with the money brought from Sweden. 

Minnesota was then a territor}' but little known ; yet we 
had heard of its beautiful lakes, forests, prairies and salu- 
brious climate. Quite a number of our company had de- 
cided to hunt up a place for a Swedish settlement where land 
could be had cheap. It was finally agreed that a few of us 



34 Story of an Emigrant. 

should go to Minnesota and select a suitable place. Being 
the onl}'- one of the party who could speak English, I was 
naturally appointed its leader. M3' father also went with us, 
and so did Mr. Willard and his wife, the whole part}'- taking 
deck passage on a Mississippi steamer, and arriving at 
St. Paul in the month of August. 

At that time St. Paul was an insignificant town of a few 
hundred inhabitants. There we found Henrj^ Russell, John 
Tidlund, and a few other Swedish pioneers. Mr. Willard and 
I had very little money, and for the few dollars which w^e did 
own we bought a little household furniture, and some cook- 
ing utensils. We therefore at once sought employment for 
him, while the rest of our party started off in search of a suit- 
able location for the proposed settlement. 

We had been told that there were a number of our country- 
men at Chisago Lake and a few near Carver, but that all 
had settled on timber lands. We also learned that near Ked 
Wing, in Goodhue county, places could be found with both 
timber and prairie, and an abundance of good water. Hay- 
ing looked over the different localities we finally decided on 
the present town of Vasa, about twelve miles west of Red 
Wing. The first claims were taken at Relle Creek, south of 
White Rock, and afterwards others were taken at a spring 
now known as Willard Spring, near which the large brick 
church now stands. 

After selecting this land my father returned to Illinois. In 
company with the other explorers, I went to St. Paul, where 
a council was held in which all participated, and at which it 
was decided that three of us, Messrs. Roos, Kempe, and my- 
self, should go to our claims that fall and do as much work 
as possible, until the others could join us the following 
spring. 

Having made the necessary preparations we three went to 
Red Wing bv steamboat and found a little town with half a 



Stokv of an Emigrant. 35 

dozen families, among whom was the Rev. J. W. Hancock, 
w^ho for several years had been a missionary among the In- 
dians. The other settlers were Wm. Freeborn, Dr. Sweeney, 
H. L. Bevans, and John Day. Besides these we also met 
two Swedes, Peter Green, and Nels Nelson, and a Norwegian 
by the name of Peterson. On the bank of the river the Sioux 
Indians had a large camp. The countr}^ west of Red Wing 
was then practically a wilderness, and our little party was 
the first to start in to cultivate the soil and make a perma- 
nent settlement. 

At Red Wing we supplied ourselves with a tent, a cook 
stove, a yoke of oxen, carpenter's tools, provisions and other 
necessaries. Having hired a team of horses, we then packed out 
goods on a wagon, tied the cattle behind, and started for the 
new settlement. The first four miles we followed the terri- 
torial road ; after that we had nothing but Indian trails to 
guide us. Toward evening we arrived at a grove on Belle 
Creek, now known as Jemtland. Here the tent w^as pitched 
and our evening meal cooked, and only pioneers like our- 
selves can understand how^ we relished it after our long day's 
tramp. The team was taken back the next day, and we 
were left alone in the wilderness. 

After a day's exploration we moved our camp two miles 
further south, to another point near Belle Creek, where Mr. 
Roos had taken his claim. 

It was now^ late in September, and our first care was to 
secure enough haj^ for the cattle, and in a few days we had a 
big stack. Having read about prairie fires, we decided to 
protect our stack by burning away the short stubble around 
it. But a minute and a half was sufficient to convince us 
that we had made wrong calculations, for within that time 
the stack itself was burning with such fur\'that all the water 
in Belle Creek could not have put it out. Still, this was not 
the worst of it. Before we had time to recover from our 



36 Story of an Emigrant. 

astonishment the fire had spread over the best part of the 
valley and consumed all the remaining grass, which was 
pretty dry at that time of the year. Inexperienced as we 
were, we commenced to run a race with the wind, and tried 
to stop the fire before reaching another fine patch of grass 
about a mile to the north; but this attempt was, of course, 
a complete failure, and w^e returned to our cheerless tent 
mourning over this serious misfortune. 

The next morning we all started out in different directions 
to see if any grass w^as left in Goodhue County, and fort- 
unately we found plenty of it near our first camping- 
ground. Having put up a second stack of very poor hay, 
we proceeded to build a rude log house, and had just finished 
it when my brother-in-law. Air. Willard, surprised us b\^ aj)- 
pearing in our midst, having left in Red Wing his wife and 
baby, now Mrs. Zelma Christensen of Rush City, who is, as 
far as I know, the first child born of Swedish parents in St. 
Paul. Mr. Willard who was a scholarly gentleman and not 
accustomed to manual labor, had found it rather hard to 
w^ork with shovel and pick on the hilly streets of St. Paul, 
and made up his mind that he would better do that kind of 
work on a farm. Alessers. Roos and Kempe having furnished 
all the money for the outfit, I reallj'- had no share in it, and 
as we could not expect Mr. Willard and his family to pass 
the winter in that cabin, I. immediately'' made up my mind 
to return with him to Red Wing. In an hour we were ready, 
and without waiting for dinner we took the trail back to 
that place. I remember distinctly how, near the head of the 
Spring Creek Valley, we sat down in a little grove to rest 
and meditate on the future. We were both very hungry, 
especially Mr. Willard, who had now walked over twenty 
miles since breakfast. Then espying a tempting squirrel in a 
treeclose by, we tried to kill it with sticks androcks; but we 
were poor marksmen, and thus missed a fine squirrel roast. 



Story of an Emigrant. 37 

Tired and very hungry we reached Red Wing late in the 
afternoon, and soon found my sister, Mrs. Willard, com- 
fortably housed with one ot the families there. Her cheerful 
and hopeful nature and the beautiful baby on her arm gave 
us fresh joy and strength to battle with the hardships that 
were in store for us. Mr. Willard and his wife had taken 
along what furniture they owned, a few eatables and five 
dollars and fifty cents in cash, which was all that we pos- 
sessed of the goods of this world. But who cares for money 
at that age? Mr. Willard was twenty-five years old, my 
sister twentj^-three, and I twenty, all hale and hearty, and 
never for a moment doubting our success, no matter what 
we should undertake. 

Our first work was wood chopping, for which we were 
less fit than almost anything else. We had to go to a place 
about three miles above Red Wing, where a man had made a 
contract to bank up fifteen hundred cords of wood for the 
Alississippi steamers. There was an old wood chopper's 
cabin which we repaired by thatching it with hay and earth, 
putting in a door, a small window, and a few rough planks 
for a floor. In a few days we were duly installed, bab\' and 
all, in the little hut which was only twelve by sixteen feet, 
but to us as dear as a palace to a king. 

We began to chop wood at once. The trees were tall, soft 
maplesand ash, and our pay was fifty-five cents a cord for soft 
and sixty-five cents for hard wood. At first both of us could 
not chop over a cord a day together; but within a week we 
could chop a cord apiece, and before the winter was over 
we often chopped three cords together in a day. After a few 
days we were joined by four Norwegian wood choppers for 
whom we put up a new cabin to sleep in; but my sister cook- 
ed for us all, and the others paid for their board to Mr. Wil- 
lard and myself, who had all things in common. Those four 
men were better workmen than we, and one of them, Albert 



38 Story of an Emigrant. 

Olson, often chopped three cords a day. The\^ were quiet, 
industrious, and s^enerous fellows, so that Ave soon became 
attached to each other, and we were all very fond of the little 
Zelma. My sister managed our household afifairs so well 
and kept the little house so neat and tid}- that when spring 
came we w^ere all loth to leave. 

The weather being fine and the sleighinggood in the begin- 
ing of January, we hired John Day to take us with his team 
to our claims while there was yet snow, so that we might 
chop and haul out logs for the house which Mr. Willard and 
1 intended to put up in the spring. AIj/ sister remained in 
the cabin, but Alljert went with us for the sake of company. 
We put some lumber on the sled, and provided ourselves with 
hay and food enough to last a few da^'s, and plenty of quilts 
and blankets for our bedding. John Day, who was an old 
frontiersman with an instinct almost like that of an Indian, 
guided us safely to Willard Spring. A few hundred j'-ards 
below this, in a deep ravine, we stopped near some sheltering 
trees, built a roaring camp-tire, and made ourselves as comfort- 
able as possible. Having supped and smoked our evening" 
pipe, w^e made our beds b}^ puttinga few boards on the snow, 
and the ha\^ and blankets on top of those. Then all four of 
us nestled down under the blankets and went to sleep. 

During the night the thermometer fell down to forty 
degrees below zero, as we learned afterwards. If we had sus- 
pected this and kept our fire burning there would, of course, 
have been no danger. But being very comfortable early 
in the night and soon asleep, we w^ere unconscious of danger 
until aroused by an intense pain caused by the cold, and 
then we were already'- so benumbed and chilled that we lacked 
energy to get up or even move. We found, oncomparingnotes 
afterwards, that each one of us had experienced the same 
sensations, namely, first an acute pain as if pricked with 
needles in every fibre, then a deep mental tranquillity which 



Story of an Emigrant. 39 

was only slightly disturbed by a faint conception of some- 
thing wrong, and by a desire to get up, but without suffici- 
ent energ}^ to do so. This feeling gradually subsided into 
one of quiet rest and satisfaction, until consciousness ceased 
altogether, and, as far as pain was concerned, all was over 
with us. 

At this stage an accident occurred which saved our lives. 
Mr. Day, who lay on the outside to the right, had evidently 
held his arm up against his breast to keep the blankets close 
to his bod3^ His will-force being gone, his arm relaxed and 
fell into the snow. As the bare hand came in contact with 
the snow the circulation of the blood was accelerated, and 
this was accompanied by such intense pain that he was 
roused and jumped to his feet. 

Thus we were saved. It took a good v^hile before we 
could use our limbs sufficiently to build a fire again, and 
during this time we suffered much more than before. From 
that experience I am satisfied that those who freeze to death 
do not suffer much, because they gradually sink into a 
stupor which blunts the sensibilities long before life is 
extinct. 

It was about four o'clock when we got up. Of course we 
did not lie down again that morning, nor did we attempt 
to haul any timber, but started in a bee line across the 
prairie for the ravine where Mr. Willard and I had seen the 
tempting squirrel a few months before. We soon found that 
going over the wild, trackless prairie against the wind, with 
the thermometer forty degrees below zero was a struggle for 
life, and in order to keep warm we took turns to ^valk or 
run behind the sleigh. In taking his turn Mr. Willard 
suddenly sat down in the snow and would not stir. We 
returned to him, and it required all our power of per- 
suasion to make him take his seat in the sleigh again. He 
felt very comfortable he said, and would soon catch up ^vitb 



40 Stokv of an Emigrant. 

us again if we only would let him alone. If we had followed 
his advice, he would never have left his cold seat again. 
After a drive of eight miles we arrived at a house on Spring 
Creek, near Red Wing, where we found a warm room and a 
good shed for the horses. After an hour's rest w^e continued 
the journey, and safely reached our little home in the woods 
before dark. I do not know that 1 ever appreciated a home 
more than I did that rude cabin when again comfortably 
seated by its warm and cheerful fire-place. 

A few weeks later I had an opportunity to visit St. Paul, 
and while there attended the wedding of a young Nor- 
wegian farmer from Carver County and a girl just arrived 
from Sweden. The cermony was performed by the Rev. 
Xilsson, a Baptist minister, who had been banished from 
Sweden on account of proselyting. Among the guests was 
Mr. John Swainsson, who since became well known among 
the Swedes of Minnesota, and who died in St. Paul a short 
time ago. I also made the acquaintance of one Jacob 
Falstrom, who had lived forty years among the Indians and 
•devoted most of that time to missionary work among them. 
He was a remarkable man, and was well known among the 
Hudson Bay employees and other early settlers of the 
Northwest. As a boy he had deserted from a Swedish vessel 
in Quebec and made his way through the wilderness, seeking 
shelter among the Indians; and, by marrxang an Indian girl, 
he had become almost identified with them. I think he 
told me that he had not heard a \vord spoken in his native 
tongue in thirty-five years, and that he had almost forgotten 
it when he met the first Swedish settlers in the St. Croix 
valle^'. His children are now living there, while he has 
passed away to the unknown land beyond, honored and 
respected by all who knew him, Indians as well as white 
men. 

On my return from St. Paid I stopped at the cabin of Mr 



Story of an Emigrant. 41: 

Peter Green, at Spring Creek, near Red Wing. The only 
domestic animals he had was a litter of pigs, and as Mr. 
Willard and I intended to settle on our land in the spring I 
thought it might be well to start in with a couple of i)igs. 
According!}^, I got two pigs from Mr. Green, put them in a 
bag which I shouldered, and left for our cabin in the woods. 
According to my calculations, the distance I had to walk 
ought not to be over three miles, and in order to be sure of 
not getting lost I followed the Cannon river at the mouth 
of which our cabin stood. I walked on the ice where the 
snow was about a foot deep, and, if I had known of the 
meanderingcourse of the river, I would never have undertaken 
to carry that burden such a distance. From nine in the morn- 
ing until it v^as almost dark I trudged along with my bur- 
den on my back, prompted to the greatest exertion by the 
grunting of the pigs, and feeling my back uncomfortably 
warm. These were the first domestic animals I ever owned, 
and I think I well earned my title to them by carrx^ing them 
along the \vindings of the river at least ten miles. Both I 
and the pigs were well received when we reached the cabin. 
We made a pig pen by digging a hole in the ground and cov- 
ering it with poles and brush, and fed them on the refuse 
from the table. Before we were ready to move one of them 
died, while the other, after being brought to our new farm, 
ungratefully ran away, and was most likely eaten up by the 
wolves, which perhaps was just as agreeable to him as to be 
eaten by us. 

While living in this camp we saw more Indians than 
white men. A band of Sioux Indians camped near us ior 
several weeks. They were very friendl3% and never molested 
us. The men brought us venison and fresh fish, which they 
caught in great quantities by spearing them through the ice*. 
We gave them bread and coffee, and sometimes invited oneor 
two to dinner after we were through. Their women would 



42 



Story of an EutGRANT. 



stay for hours with my sister and help her take care of the 
baby. Indeed they were so fond of the white-haired child 
that they would vsometimes run a race in vying w^ith each 
other to get the first chance to fondle her. Sometimes we 
visited them in their tents in the evening and smoked Kini- 
kinick with them. Several of their dead reposed in the 
young trees near our cabin. When somebody died it was 
their custom to stretch the dead body on poles which were 
tied to young trees high enough to be out of the reach of 



^^vVv^-^\S^, 




ffS'','0/„ 




CHIEF 



wild beasts, then cover it wMth blankets, and finally leave 
some corn and venison and a jar of water close by. At some 
subsequent visit to the neighborhood they would gather the 
bones and bury them at some regular burial-ground, usually 
on a high hill or bluff. 

Once we saw a regular war dance in Red Wing. A. few 
Sioux had killed two Chippewa's and brought back their 
scalps stretched on a frame of young saplings. At a given 



Storv of an Emigrant. 4,3 

hour the whole band assembled, and, amid the most fan- 
tastic gestures, jumping, singing, 3'elling, beating of tom- 
toms and jingling of bells, gave a performance which in lurid 
savageness excelled an \' thing I ever saw^. The same Indians 
again became our neighbors for a short time on Belle Creek 
the following winter, and we rather liked them, and they us. 
Bat eight years later they took part in the terrible massacre 
of the white settlers in Western Minnesota, and thirty-jnine 
of their men were hanged on one gallows at Mankato in the 
fall of 1862 and the rest transported beyond our borders. 

Thtis our first winter in iMinnesota passed without further 
incidents, until the beginning of March, when the weather 
turned so mild that we were afraid the ice on the Mississippi 
might break up, and we therefore hurried back to Red Wing. 
By our wood chopping and Mrs. Willard's cooking enough 
money had been earned to buy the most necessary articles 
f ^r our new home. When we had procured' evervthing and 
taken a few days' rest, we again hired Mr. John Day to take 
us out to our land with his team. Hundreds of thousands 
of immigrants have had the same experience, and can realize 
how we felt on that fine March morning, starting from Red 
Wing with a wagon loaded with some boards on the bottom, 
a cook stove and utensils, doors, windows, a keg of nails, 
saws, spades, a small supply of provisions, a bedstead or 
two with bedding, a few trunks, and a little box containing 
our spotted pig, Mrs. Willard in the seat with the driver, 
her babx-- in her arms, her husband and myself taking turns 
as guides, John Day shouting to his horses, laughing and 
joking ; all of us full of hope, strength and determination to 
overcome all obstacles and coi qu r thewildness. The snow 
was now nearly gone, and the air was spring-like. 

After a twelve miles' heavy pull we arrived at our destina- 
tion, and made a temporary tent of sticks and blankets, very 
much after the Indian fashion. Two of thcNorwegiai^.- had 



44 Story of an Emigrant. 

accompanied us to help build our cabin. Mr. Day stopped a 
couple of days hauling building material, and before night 
the second day the rear part of our cabin was under roof. 
After a few days the Norwegians left us, and Mr. Willardand 
myself had to finish the main part of the building which was 
also made of round logs. For many a A^ear this rude log 
cabin was the centre of attraction, and ahospitable stopping 
place for nearly all the settlers of Yasa. 

In the month of April cold weather set in again, and it 
was very late in the season w^hen steamboat navigation was 
opened on the Mississippi. At that time all provisions had 
to be shipped from Galena or Dubuque, and it happened that 
the winter's supplies in Red Wing were so nearly gone that 
not a particle of flour or meat could be bought after the first 
of April. Ovir supplies w^ere soon exhausted, and for about 
two weeks our little family had only a peck of potatoes, a 
small panful of flour, and a gallon of beans to live on, part of 
which was a present from Messrs. Roos andKempe, whohad 
remained all winter on their claims, three miles south of us. 
They had been struggling against great odds, and had been 
compelled to live on half rations for a considerable length of 
time. Even their oxen had been reduced almost to the point 
of starvation, their only feed being over-ripe hay in small 
quantities. 

We would certainly have starved if it had not been for my 
shot-gun, with which I went down into the v^oods of Belle 
Creek every morning at day-break, generally returning with 
pheasants, squirrels, or other small game. One Sunday the 
weather was so disagreeable and rough that I did not suc- 
ceed in my hunting, but in feeding the team back of the 
kitchen some oats had been spilt, and a flock of blackbirds 
came and fed on them. Through an opening between the 
logs of the kitchen I shot several dozen of these birds, which, 
by the way, are not ordinarily ver}-- toothsome. But, being 



Story of an Emigrant. 4,5 

a splendid cook, my sister made them into a stew, thickened 
with a few mashed beans and a handful of flour — in our es- 
timation the mess turned out to be a dinner fit for kings. 

Our supplies being nearly exhausted, I started for Red 
Wing the next morning, partly to save the remaining hand- 
ful of provisions for my sister and her husband, partly in 
hopes of obtaining fresh supplies from a steamboat which was 
expected about that time. Three days afterwards the 
steamer arrived. As soon as practicable the boxes were 
brought to the store of H. L. Bevans. I secured a smoked 
ham, thirty pounds of flour, a gallon of molasses, some coffee, 
salt and sugar, strapped it all (weighing almost seventy 
pounds) on my back, and started toward evening for our 
cabin in the wilderness. I had to walk about fourteen miles 
along the Indian trail, but in spite of the heavy burden I 
made that distance in a short time, knowing that the dear 
ones at home were threatened by hunger; perhaps the howl- 
ing of the prairie wolves near my path also had something 
to do with the speed. There are events in the life of every 
person which stand out like mile-stones along the road, and 
so attract the attention of the traveler on life's journey that 
they always remain vivid pictures in his memory'. Mv 
arrival at our cabin that evening was one of those events in 
our humble life. I will not attempt to describe the joy which 
my burden brought to all of us, especially to the youn^- 
mother vv'ith the little babe at her breast. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Future Hopes — Farm Life — Norwegian Pioneers — The Condition of the 
Immigrant at the Beginning of the Fifties — Religious Meetings — The 
Growth of the Settlement — Vasa Township Organized — A Lutheran 
Church Established — My Wedding — Speculation — TheCrisis of 1857 — 
Study of Law in Red Wing — I am admitted to the Bar and elected 
County Auditor — Politics in 1860 — War is Imminent. 

We had now commenced a new career, located on our farm 
claims in the boundless West, with no end to the prospects 
and possibilities before us. We felt that independence and 
freedom which are only attained and appreciated in the 
western wilds of America. 
From the Mississippi river and almost to the Pacific Ocean, 

was a verdant field for 
the industry, energy 
and enterprise of the 
settler. To be sure, our 
means and resources 
were small, but some- 
ouR WAGON. how we felt that by 

hard work and good conduct we would some day attain the 
comfort, independence and position for which our souls 
thirsted. We did not sit down and wait for gold mines to 
open up before us, or for roasted pigs to come running bj^our 
cabin, but with axe and spade went quietly to work, to do 
our little part in the building up of new empires. 

In the beginning of May, my father came from Illinois and 
brought us a pair of steers and a milch cow ; this made us 




;*^ 



Story of an Emigrant. 47 

rich. We made a wagon with wheels of blocks sawed off an 
oak log; we also bought a plow, and, joining with our 
neighbors of Belle Creek, had a breaking team of two pair 
of oxen. That breaking team and that truck wagon, with 
myself always as the chief ox driver, did all the breaking, and 
all the hauling and carting of lumber, provisions, building- 
material and other goods, for all the settlers in that neigh- 
hood during the first season. 

Soon others of our party from last year joined us. Some 
letters which I wrote in Hemlandet describing the country 
around us, attracted much attention and brought settlers 
from different parts of the west, and while the Swedes were 
pouring into our place, then known as "Mattson's Settle- 
ment," (now well known under the name of Yasa), our friends, 
the Norwegians, had started a prosperous settlement a few 
miles to the south, many of them coming overland from Wis- 
consin, bringing cattle, implements and other valuables of 
which the Swedes, being mostly poor new-comers, were desti- 
tute. Many immigrants of both nationalities came as deck 
passengers on the Mississippi steamers to Red Wing. 

There was cholera at St. Louis that summer, and I re- 
member how a steamer landed a large party of Norwegian 
immigrants, nearly all down with cholera. Mr. Willardand 
myself happened to be in Red Wing at the time, and the 
American families, considering these Norwegian cholera 
patients our countrymen, hastily turned them over to our 
care. We nursed them as best we could, but many died in 
spite of all our efforts, and as we closed their eyes, and laid 
them in the silent grave under the bluffs, it never occurred to 
us that they were anything but our countrymen and 
brothers. 

From these small beginnings of the Swedish and Nor- 
wegian settlers in Goodhue county, in the years of 1853 and 
1854, have sprung results which are not only grand but 



48 



Story of an Emigrant. 



glorious to contemplate. Looking back to those days I see 
the little cabin, often with a sod roof, single room used for 
domestic purposes, sometimes crowded almost to suffoca- 
tion by hospitable entertainments to new-comers; or the 
poor immigrant on the levee at Red Wing, just landed from 
a steamer, in his short jacket and other outlandish costume, 
perhaps seated on a wooden box, with his wife and a large 
group of children around him, and wondering how he shall 
be able to raise enough means to get himself ten or twenty 
miles into the country, or to redeem the bedding and other 
household goods which he has perchance left in Milwaukee 
as a pledge for his railroad and steam-boat ticket. And I 




OUR FIRST HOME. 



see him trudging along over the trackless prairie, searching 
for a piece of land containing if possible prairie, water and a 



Story of an Emigrant. 49 

little timber, on which to build a home. Poor, bewildered, 
ignorant, and odd looking, he had been an object of pity and 
derision all the way from Gothenburg or Christiania to the 
little cabin of some country-man of his, where he found 
peace and shelter until he could build one of his own. 

Those \vho have not experienced frontier life, will natu- 
rally wonder how it was possible for people so poor as a 
majority of the old settlers were, to procure the necessaries 
of life, but they should remember that our necessaries were 
few, and our luxuries a great deal less. The bountiful earth 
soon yielded bread and vegetables ; the woods and streams 
supplied game and fish ; and as to shoes and clothing, I and 
many others have used shoes made of untanned skins, and 
even of gunny-sacks and old rags. Furthermore, the small 
merchants at the river or other points, "were always willing 
to supply the Scandinavian emigrants with necessary goods 
on credit, until better times should come. Our people in this 
country did certainly earn a name for integrity and honesty 
among their American neighbors, which has been a greater 
help to them than money. 

Some of the men would go off in search of w^ork, and in 
due time return w^ith means enough to help the balance of 
the family. 

Frontier settlers are always accommodating and generous. 
If one had more than he needed, he would invariably share 
the surplus with his neighbors. The neighbors would all 
turn in to help a new-comer, — haul his logs, build his house, 
and do other little services for him. 

The isolated condition and mutual aims and aspirations 
of the settlers brought them nearer together than in older 
communities. On Sunday afternoons all would meet at some 
centrally located place, and spend the day together. A cup 
of coffee with a couple of slices of bread and butter, would 
furnish a royal entertainment, and when we got so far 



50 Story of an Emigrant. 

along that we could afford some pie or cake for dessert, the 
good house-wives were in a perfect ecstacy. The joys and 
sorrows of one, were shared by the others, and nowhere in 
the wide world, except in a militarj^ camp, have I witnessed 
so much genuine cordial friendship and brotherhood as 
among the frontier settlers in the West. 

One fine Sunday morning tliat summer, all the settlersmet 
under two oak trees on the prairie, near where the present 
church stands, for the first religious service in the settlement. 
It had been agreed that some of the men should take turns 
to read one of Luther's sermons at each of these gatherings, 
and I was selected as reader the first day. Some prayers 
were said and Swedish hymns sung, and seldom did a temple 
contain more devout worshipers than did that little congre- 
gation on the prairie. 

Before the winter of 1854-55 set in, we had quite a large 
community in Yasa, and had raised considerable grain, 
potatoes and other provisions. During that winter the Sioux 
Indians again became our neighbors, and frequently sup- 
plied us with venison in exchange for bread and coffee. The 
following spring and summer the settlers increased still 
faster, several more oxen and other cattle, with ahorse or 
two, were brought in, and I had no longer the exclusive 
privilege of hauling goods on the little truck wagon. 

That summer I again went to Illinois to meet a large 
party of newly- arrived emigrants from Sweden, who formed 
a settlement in Vasa, known as SkAne. The people from 
different provinces would group themselves together in little 
neighborhoods, each assuming in common parlance the 
name of their own province; thus we have Vasa, Skane, 
Smaland and Jemtland. 

About this time a township was formally organized, 
and, at my suggestion, given the name of Vasa, in com- 
memoration of the great Swedish king. Roads w^ere also 



Story of an Emigrant. 51 

laid out legally, and a district organization perfected. A 
school district was formed and soon after an election pre- 
cinct, and as I was the only person who was master of the 
English language the duty of attending to all these things 
devolved upon me. We were particularly fortunate in 
having many men, not only of good education from the old 
country, but of excellent character, plt^ck and energ\% men 
who w^ould have been leaders in their communities if they 
had remained at home, and who became prominent as soon 
as the\' had mastered the English language. This fact, 
perhaps, gave a higher tone and character to our little com- 
munity than is common in such cases, and Vasa has since 
that time furnished many able men in the county offices, in 
the legislative halls, and in business and educational circles. 
There can be much refinement and grace even in a log cabin 
on the wild prairie. 

In the beginning of the month of September, 1855, Rev.E. 
Norelius visited the settlement and organized a Lutheran 
church. 

Thirty-five years have elapsed since that time, and 
many of those who belonged to the first church at Vasa now 
rest in mother earth close b^' the present stately church 
edifice, which still belongs to the same congregation, and is 
situated only a short distance from the place where the 
latter was organized. Rev. Norelius himself lives only a few 
hundred yards from the church building. Thirt}' -five years 
have changed the then cheerful, hopeful young man into a 
veteran, crowned with honor, and full of wisdom and ex- 
perience. His beneficent influence on the Swedes of Good- 
hue county and of the whole Northwest wnll make his name 
dear to coming generations of our people. 

On November 23d, in the same fall, the first wedding took 
place in our settlement. The author of these memoirs was 
joined in matrimony to Miss Cherstin Peterson, from 



52 Story of an Hmigrant. 

Balingslof, near Kristianstad, whose family had just come 
to Vasa from Sweden. By this union I found the best and 
most precious treasure a man can find — a good and dear 
wife, who has faithfully shared my fate to this day. Rev. J. 
W. Hancock, of Red Wing, performed the marriageceremony 
Horses being ver_v scarce among us in those days, the minister 
had to borrow an Indian pony and ride on horseback twelve 
miles — from Red Wing to Vasa. On the evening of our wed- 
ding day there happened to be a severe snow-storm, through 
which my young bride was taken from her parents' home to 
our log house, on a home-made wooden sled, drawn by a 
pair of oxen and escorted b\^ a number of our young friends, 
which made this trip of about a quarter of a mile very 
pleasant, in spite of the oxen and the snow-storm. 

The next winter was very severe, and many of our neigh- 
bors suffered greatly from colds and even frozen limbs. But 
chere was an abundance of provisions, and, as far as I can 
remember, no one was in actual need after the first winter. 

In the spring of 1856 several new-comers arrived in our 
colony. That year marked the climax of the mad land 
speculation in the Northwest. Cities and towns were staked 
out and named, advertised and sold everywhere in the state, 
and people seemed to be perfectly wild, everybody expecting 
to get rich in a short time without working. The value of 
real estate rose enormously, and money was loaned at three, 
four, and even five per cent, a month. Fortunately, very few 
of the settlers in our neighborhood were seized by this mad 
fur}"- of speculation. I, however, became a victim. I bought 
several pieces of land, and sold some of them very profitablj--, 
and mortgaged others at an impossible rate of interest. And, 
the world becoming too narrow forme on the farm, I availed 
myself of the first opportunity to trade away my land for 
some property in Red Wing, which was a booming little town 
at that time. We moved from the plain log cabin on the old 



Story of an Emigrant. 53 

farm into a house in town, where I engaged in a successful 
mercantile business. But speculation was in the air, and be- 
fore the spring of 1857 my entire stock of merchandize was 
exchanged for town lots in Wasioja and Geneva, two paper 
cities further w^est. Meanwhile my friend Mr. Eustrom, 
with his young wife and baby, had arrived from Boston, 
and both of us, w^ith our families and a few^ friends, moved 
out to Geneva early in the summer, w^ith the intention of 
building up a city and acquiring riches in a hurry. But 
at that time the weaves of speculation began to subside, 
and nine-tenths of the cities and towns which were mapped 
out, and the great enterprises which were inaugurated by 
enthusiasts like myself suddenly collapsed into a mere 
nothing. Among these w^as also Geneva, which is not 
larger to-day than when v^e left it, and it was about all I 
could do to raise enough money to get back to Vasa with 
my wife. My friend Eustrom pre-empted a claim near Gene- 
va and remained there. 

Making an inventor}^ of my property after the return to 
Yasa in 1857, I found that the principal thing I had wras a 
debt of $2,000, bearing an interest of five per cent, a month. 
In order to pay this debt we sold everything we had, 
even our furniture and my wife's gold watch. This Avas the 
great crisis of 1857. It stirred up everybody and everything 
in the country, and it was no wonder that I, being an inex- 
perienced and enthusiastic 3'oung man, had to suffer with so 
many others. But now the question was, what should I do? 
I could not return to' the farm, for I had none; that is, it was 
encumbered for about twice its value. 

In the midst of these difficulties I went to Red Wing one 
day to consult a prominent lawyer in regard to some busi- 
ness matters. During my conversation with him he said: 
"You have nothing to do now, you have had enough of spec- 
ulation, 3^ou know the English language, you are tolerably 



54 Story of an Emigrant. 

well acquainted witli our laws, well educated, young and 
ambitious, why not study law, then ? This state and this 
countj^ is just the place for you to make a splendid begin- 
ning in that profession. Come to me, and within a year 
you can be admitted to the bar, after which j^ou will find it 
easy to get along." 

I returned to Vasa in the evening, and, having consulted 
my wife, who was visiting her parents, I soon made up my 
mind. The next day both of us were on the way to Red 
Wing supplied with clothes, bedding, a few dishes and some 
provisions, which had been given us by my wife's parents, 
who also conveyed us to town. In Red "Wing we rented a 
room about sixteen feet square, got a cook stove and a 
few articles of furniture on credit, and ever^^thing was in 
order for housekeeping and the study of law. I immediately 
commenced my course of study with that excellent lawyer, 
Mr. Warren Bristol, who afterwards for many years served 
as United States Judge in New Mexico, where he recently 
died. 

This life was something new for my young wife, who had 
grown up in a house of plenty. Now She had to try her hand 
at managing our household affairs, with the greatest econ- 
omy, and she accomplished her task so well that no minister 
of finance could have done better. In fact we were so poor 
that winter that we could not afford to buy the tallow can- 
dles which were necessary for my night studies (kerosene 
was unknown at that time). But every evening during this 
tr3'^ing but hajopy winter my wife made a lamp by pouring 
melted lard, which her parents sent us, into a saucer, and 
putting in a cotton wick, and in my eyes this light was more 
brilliant than the rays from the golden chandeliers in the 
palaces of the rich. By this light I studied Blackstone, Kent, 
and other w^orks on law. 

Lnte in the spring of 1858 a place became vacant in the 



Story of an Emigrant. 55 

justice of the peace, and I succeeded in getting the appoint- 
ment to this position, \vhich brought me a couple of dollars 
now and then, thus improving our financial condition consid- 
erably. Early in the summer I was appointed city clerk, 
with a salary of $12.50 a month, which was quite a fortune 
for us at that time. After one year's hard study I was ad- 
mitted to the bar, and my honored teacher accepted me as 
his partner on good conditions. My profession seemed to be 
well chosen ; I had plenty to do, and met with all the success 
I could expect. 

My first case in the district court was before Judge McMil- 
lan, who afterwards became chief justice of our supreme 
court, and then United States senator. In opening the case 
I became nervous and excited and would have broken down 
entirely had it not been for the kindly manner in which the 
judge overlooked my diffidence, and helped me out of the 
embarrassment by leading me on and putting the very 
words in my mouth ; this was only natural to his kind heart, 
and he probably never remembered it, but to me it was an 
act of great kindness, never to be forgotten, especially not 
when more than twenty years after the little incident he 
needed all his friends to rall3^ for his return to the United 
States senate, his most formidable opponent being the vener- 
able and beloved statesman, Alexander Ramsey. 

My law practice lasted only a few months, as I was ap- 
pointed county auditor to fill a vacancy, and soon afterwards 
elected to fill the regular term of office, and again re-elected 
two years later. Before that time no Swedish-American had 
occupied such responsible civil office in the United States. 
But I probably made a mistake in accepting this office and 
thereby turning my back on a profession at which I would 
undoubtedly have made more easy and rapid progress than 
by anything else. But for the time being it produced great 
economical improvements in our private life. Our little 



56 Story of an Emigrant. 

home, the narrow room which served as bedroom, study, 
kitchen and parlor, was soon exchanged for a neat little 
house, and a year later we moved into a larger and more 
comfortable building, which was our own property. 

Meanwhile the settlement at Vasa had prospered, and tbe 
population had materially increased. The Scandinavian 
settlers had scattered over the neighboring towns and coun- 
ties with marvelous rapidity. The crisis of 1857 had been 
an excellent lesson to us all, for, although the price of real 
estate had fallen to about one-fourth of its former value, 
the people were better off now than formerly, owing to 
better management and more prudent economy. 

The Scandinavians had now commenced to take a lively 
interest in the political discussions w^hich were agitating the 
entire country at that time. The all absorbing political 
question of the day was "slavery" or "no slavery" in the 
new territories. It is unnecessary to say that the Scandi- 
navians were almost to a man in favor of liberty to all men, 
and that they consequently joined the Republican party, 
which had just been organized for the purpose of restricting 
slavery. 

In the winter of 1861, while I was holding the office of 
auditor the second term, the legislature of Minnesota ap- 
pointed a committee to revise the tax laws. This com- 
mittee invited five county auditors, of w^hich number I had 
the honor to be one, to assist in its work. The tax laws 
which were formulated by this general committee w^ere in 
force over twenty years. 

It was about this time the great American statesman, W. 
H. Seward, visited Minnesota. I heard him make his famous 
speech in St. Paul, in which, with the gift of prophecy, he de- 
picted the future grandeur of the twin cities. I also heard 
Owen Lovejoy, a member of congress from Illinois, and one 
of the leading anti-slaverv asfitators of the times. 



Story of an Emigrant. 57 

During tlie presidential election of 1860 the political ex- 
citement ran very higli in tlie whole country. The Southern 
states had assumed a threatening position, and expressed 
their intention to secede from the Union if Lincoln was 
elected president. Throughout the whole country political 
clubs were organized. The Democrats formed companies 
which they called "Little Giants," which was the nickname 
given to Stephen A. Douglas, their candidate for president. 

The Republicans also organized companies which they 
called "Wide Awakes." I was chosen leader of the Republi- 
can company in Red Wing. Political meetings were very 
frequent during the last few weeks before election, and among 
the most prominent features of those meetings were proces- 
sions and parades of the companies, which were uniformed, 
and carried banners and torches. During the campaign C. 
C. Andrews and the late Stephen Miller, respective candidates 
for presidential electors on the Democratic and Republican 
tickets, held meetings together and jointh^ debated the im- 
portant questions of the day, taking of course opposite 
sides, but within a year both were found as officers in the 
Union army, gallantly fighting for the same cause. 

About this time a company of militia organized in Red 
Wing, and I was one of the lieutenants, and took active part 
in its drill and maneuvers. Although none of the men who 
took part in these movements could foresee or suspect the 
approach of the awful struggle which was to plunge the 
country into a deluge of fire and blood, still they all seemed 
to have a presentiment that critical times were near at 
hand, and that it was the duty of all true citizens to make 
ready for them. It is a significant fact that fifty-four men 
out of our little company of only sixty, within two years 
became officers or soldiers in the volunteer army of the 
United States. Although the Scandinavian emigrants had 
been in the state only a few years, they still seemed to take 



58 



Story of an Emigrant. 



as great an interest in the threatening political difficulties 
of the times, and were found to be just as willing as their 
native fellow-citizens to sacrifice their blood and lives for the 
Union. 



CHAPTER V. 



The Beginiiing if the Civil War — The Scandinavians taking part in it — 
Appeal in Hemlandet to the Scandinavians of Minnesota — Company 
D. Organized — The Expressions of the Press — The Departure — The 
March over the Cumberland Mountains — The Fate of the Third 
Regiment. 



Going from the court house on the afternoon of April 12th, 
1861, a friend overtook me with the news that the rebels of 
the South had fired on Fort Sumpter. The news spread 
rapidh', and caused surprise and intense indignation. In a 
few days the governor issued a proclamation that one 
thousand men should be ready to leave our young state for 
the seat of war; more than a sufiicient number of companies 
were already organized to fill this regiment, and the only 
question was, who were to have the first chance ? This first 
excitement was so sudden that the Scandinavians, who are 
more deliberate in such matters, scarcely knew what was 
going on before the first enlistment was made. 

A few months passed, and the battle of Bull Run was 
fought. It was no longer a mere momentary excitement ; it 
was no longer expected that the Rebellion could be subdued 
in a single battle or within a few months, but it was gener- 
ally understood that the war would be long and bitter. 
Then the Scandinavians of Minnesota began to stir. We 
had heard that a few Swedes in Illinois, especially Major — 
afterward General — Stohlbrand and a few others, had en- 
tered the armv. A few Scandinavians had also enlisted in 



60 Story of an Emigrant. 

the First and Second regiments ; but there was no general 
rising among them in our state until I published an appeal 
in the Swedish newspaper Hemlandet in Chicago. The fol- 
lowing is an extract from that paper : 

"To The Scandinavians of Minnesota! 

"It is liigh time for us, as a people, to rise witli sword in band, and fight 
for our adopted country and for liberty. 

"This country is in danger. A gigantic power has arisen against it and 
at the same time against liberty and democracy, in order to crush them. 

" Our state has already furnished two thousand men, and will soon be 
called upon for as manj^more to engage in the war. Among the population 
of the state the Scandinavians number about one-twelfth, a part of its 
most hardy and enduring people, and ought to furnish at least three or 
four hundred men for this army. This land which we, as strangers, have 
made our home, has received us with friendship and hospitality. We enjoy 
equal privileges with the native born. The path to honor and fortune is 
alike open to us and them. The law protects and befriends us all alike. 
We have also sworn allegiance to the same. 

" Countrymen, ' Arise to arms ; our adopted country calls ! ' Let us prove 
ourselves worthy of that land, and of those heroes from whom we descend. 

"I hereby offer myself as one of that number, and I am confident that 
many of you are ready and willing to do likewise. Let each settlement 
send forth its little squad. Many in this neighborhood are now ready 
to go. A third regiment will soon be called by the governor of this 
state. Let us, then, have ready a number of men of the right kind, and 
offer our services as a part of the same. Let us place ourselves on the 
side of liberty and truth, not only with words but with strong arms, — 
with our lives. Then shall our friends in the home of our childhood rejoice 
over us. Our children and children's children shall hereafter pronounce our 
names with reverence. We shall ourselves be happy in the consciousness of 
having performed our duty, and should death on the field of battle be our 
lot, then shall our parents, wives, children and friends find some consolation 
in their sorrow in the conviction that they, also, by their noble sacrifices, 
have contribitted to the defense and victory of right, justice, and liberty. 
And a grateful people shall not withhold from them its sympathy and 
friendship." 

A few^ days later I left a dear wife, home, and tw^o children, 
and started for Fort Snelling, but not alone ; about seventy 
Swedes and thirty Norwegians from Red Wing, Vasa, Chi- 
sago Lake, Holden, Wanamingo, Stillwater, Albert Lea and 



Story of an Emigrant. 



61 



other places, went there with me, or joined us in the course 
of a few days. 




MUSTERING VOLUNTEERS. 



Meanwhile the third regiment had been called, and one 
hundred of my companions were mustered in as Company D 
of that regiment, with myself as their captain, a Norwegian 
friend, L. K. Aaker, formerly a member of our legislature, as 
first lieutenant, and my old friend H. Eustrom as second 
lieutenant. Although Company D was the only military 
organization in our state consisting exclusively of Scandina- 
vians, there were quite a number of those nationalities in 
every regiment and company organized afterwards. 

I may be excused for saying a few words concerning my 
old military company. It consisted of the very flower of our 
young men. It was regarded from the start as a model com- 
pany, and maintained its rank as such during the whole 
term of four years' service. Always orderly, sober, obedient 
and faithful to every duty, the men of Company D, though 
foreigners by birth, won and always kept the affectionate re- 



62 Story of an Emigrant. 

gard and fullest confidence of their native-born comrades. A 
large majority of them are resting in the last grand bivonac, 
many under the genial Southern sun, but no word of reproach 
or doubt of soldierly honor has ever been heard against any 
of those living or dead. 

About this time a whole regiment of Scandinavians, 
mostly Norwegians, was organized in Wisconsin, — the Fif- 
teenth Wisconsin Infantry regiment, — which rose to great 
distinction during its long service. Its brave colonel, Hans 
Hegg, fell mortally wounded while commanding a brigade 
on the bloody field at Chickamauga. There were manj^ par- 
tially or wholly Swedish companies from Illinois, one of 
which belonged to the Forty-third Illinois regiment, under 
the lamented Capt. Arosenius, and came under my com- 
mand a few years later in Arkansas. There were also many 
prominent Swedish officers in other regiments, such as Gen. 
C. J. Stohlbrand, Cols. Vegesack, Malmborg, Steelhammar, 
Broddy, Elfving, and Brydolf, Capts. Stenbeck, Silversparre, 
Sparrstrom, Lerapke, Chas. Johnson, Erik Johnson, Van- 
strum, Lindberg, etc., and Lieuts. Osborne, Edgren, Liljen- 
gren, Johnson, Lindall, Olson, Gustafson, Lundberg, and 
many others whose names I do not now recall. 

In the Goodhue county records for October 15, 1861, is a 
paragraph which states that, as the county auditor, H. 
Mattson, has voluntarily gone to the war with a company 
of soldiers to defend our country, it is resolved that leave of 
absence shall be extended to him, and that the office of 
county auditor shall not be declared vacant so long as the 
deputy performs his duties properly. 

The St. Paul Press of the same date, has the following: 
"We congratulate Capt. Mattson and his countrymen for 
the splendid company of Swedes and Norwegians which he 
commands. Never was a better company mustered in for 
service." 



Story of an Emigrant. 63 

In the beginning of November two steamers arrived at 
Fort Snelling and took the Third regiinent on board. We 
were ordered to join Bitell's army in Kentucky. Company 
E, of our regiment, was also mainly from Goodhue county, 
and when the steamers arrived at Red Wing, they stopped 
half an hour to let Companies D and E partake of a bounti- 
ful supper, to which they had been invited by their city 
friends, and to say a last farewell to their families and ac- 
quaintances. My wife, with tiie little children, my sister, 
father, brother, and other relatives, were gathered in a large 
room in the hotel opposite the landing. The half hour was 
soon past, and the bugle sounded "fall in." I pass over the 
partingscene, leaving it to the imagination of the reader, for 
I cannot find words to describe it myself. I will only relate 
one little episode. When the bugle sounded for departure I 
held my little two-year-old daughter in my arms; her arms 
were clasped around mj^neck, and, when I endeavored to set 
her down, she closed her little fingers so hard together that 
her uncle had to open them by force before he could take 
her away from me. W^hen a little child was capable of such 
feelings, it may be surmised what those felt who were able 
to comprehend the significance of that moment. 

In a few days we w^ere camped on a muddy field in Ken- 
tucky, quickly learning the duties of soldier-life, and familiar- 
izing ourselves with the daily routine of an arm^'in the field. 

My military career of four years' duration passed without 
any event of particular interest or importance; it was like 
that of two million other soldiers — to do their duty faith- 
fully, whatever that duty might be — that was all. 

After eight months' service I was promoted to the rank of 
major in the regiment. At that time we were serving in 
middle Tennessee. Shortly afterward our regiment, with 
some three thousand men of the troops, made a forced march 
across the Cumberland mountains. In order to give the 



(34 Story of an Emigrant. 

reader an idea of the hardships which the soldiers occasion- 
ally had to endure on a march, I shall give a short sketch 
of this. The detachment broke camp in Murfreesboro in the 
forenoon of a very hot day toward the close of May, and 
marched twenty miles before night, which was considered 
a good distance for the first day. Most of the men sufiered 
from blistered feet, and they were all very tired. We pre- 
pared our supper, and had just gone to rest in a large open 
field and were beginning to fall asleep, when, at ten o'clock 
in the evening, the signal was given to fall in. In a few min- 
utes the whole force was in line, and silently resumed the 
march forward. We marched the whole night, the w^hole of 
the next da}'-, the following night, and till noon the day 
after, moving altogether a distance of over eighty miles, 
over a difficult and partly mountainous country, and stop- 
ping only one hour three times a day to cook our coffee and 
eat, while those who sank down by the roadside entirely 
exhausted were left until the rear-guard came and picked 
them up. When we finally arrived at our destination the 
enemy that we were pursuing had already decamped, and 
we had to return by the same route over which we had 
come, though more leisurely. Among the many victims of 
this march was a bright Norwegian lieutenant of my old 
company, Hans Johnson, who died shortly after our return 
to Murfreesboro. 

A few days afterward the regiment started on an expedi- 
tion to the South. During this march I got sick with the 
fever, and would probably have died at Columbia, Tenn., if 
my friend Eustrom, w^ho at that time was captain of Com- 
pany D, had not succeeded in getting me into a rebel family, 
where I was treated with the greatest care, so that in a few 
days I was able to go by rail to Minnesota on a twenty 
days' leave of absence. This took place in the beginning of 
the month of Juh', 1862. 



Story of an Emigrant. 65 

Having spent a fortnight in tlie bosom of my family I re- 
turned, with improved health, to resume my command, I 
arrived at Chicago on a Sunday morning, and, as I had to 
wait all day for my train, I went to the Swedish church on 
Superior street. Leaving the church, I heard a news-boy 
crying, "Extra number of the Tribune; great battle atMur- 
freesboro; Third Minnesota regiment in hot fire!" I bought 
the paper and hurried to the hotel, where another extra edi- 
tion was handed me. The Union troops had won a decisive 
victory at Murfreesboro, and totally routed the forces of 
Forrest, consisting of eight thousand cavalry. Later in the 
evening a third extra edition announced that "The Third 
regiment has been captured by the enemy, and is on the 
march to the prisons of the South." Only a soldier can im- 
agine my feelings when I received this news. I arrived in 
Tennessee two days later, only to meet the soldiers return- 
ing from the mountains where they had been released on 
written parole by the enemy. They were sore-footed, ex- 
hausted, hungry and wild with anger, and looked more like 
a lot of ragged beggars than the well-disciplined soldiers 
they had been a few days before. All the captured officers 
had been taken to the South, where they were kept in prison 
several months. Only two of them succeeded in making 
their escape. One of those was Capt. Eustrom, who, in 
company with Lieut. Taylor, made his escape from a hos- 
pital building, some negroes giving them clothes, and, 
through almost incredible hardships and dangers, they suc- 
ceeded in reaching our lines, and I met them two days after 
my arrival at Nashville. 

The capitulation of our splendid regiment was one of the 
most deplorable events of its kind during the whole war. It 
was regarded one of the best regiments of volunteers of the 
Western army. It had defended itself with great valor, and, 



i^6 Story of an Emigrant. 

in fact, defeated tlie enemy, when for some unaccountable rea- 
son, Col. H. C. Lester decided to surrender, and lie exerted 
such a great influence over our officers that seven company 
commanders went over to his side in the council of war, 
which he called, while the remaining officers and the soldiers 
were strongly opposed to the capitulation. When the men 
finally were ordered to stack arms they did so with tears in 
their e\'es, complaining bitterly because they were not al- 
lowed to fight any longer. All the officers who had been in 
favor of capitulation were afterward dismissed from service 
in disgrace. 

Arriving at Nashville I was immediately ordered to assume 
command of my own scattered regiment, of the Ninth Mich- 
igan Infantry regiment, and of a battery of artillery, which 
had also capitulated on that fatal Sunday. Having supplied 
the men with clothing and other necessaries, I took them 
by steamboats to a camp for prisoners in St. Louis, and re- 
turned to Nashville to report the matter in person. On my 
return to Nashville I was appointed member of a general 
court martial, and shortly afterwards its president, which 
position I occupied from July till December, 1862. The suffer- 
ings w^hich my friend Captain Eustrom had endured during 
his flight from the rebels shattered his health so that he was 
soon forced to retire from service. 

About this time the well-known Indian massacre in the 
western settlements of Minnesota took place. About eight 
hundred peaceable citizens, mostly women and children, and 
among those many Scandinavians — were cruelly butchered, 
and their houses and property burnt and destroyed. The 
soldiers of the Third regiment had given their parole not to 
take up arms against the enemy until they were properly ex- 
changed, but, as this did not have anything to do with the 
Indian w^ar, they were ordered from St. Louis to Minnesota 



SroRY OF AN Emigrant. 67 

and put under tlie command of Major Welch, of tlie Fourtla 
regiment, and soon distinguished themselves by their fine 
maneuvers and valor in the struggle with the Indians. 




CHAPTER VI. 

Events of 1863 — The Siege of Vicksburg — Anecdotes about Gens. Logan, 
Stevenson and Grant — Little Rock Captured — Recruiting at Fort Snel- 
ling — The engagement at Fitzhugh's Woods — Pine Bluff— Winter Quar- 
ters at Duvall's Bluff— Death of Lincoln— Close of the War— The 
Third Regiment Disbanded. 



In the month of December the officers were exchanged and 
ordered back to Fort Snelling, to where the enlisted men had 
also returned from the Indian war. In January, 1863, we 
again left Minnesota for the Sauth. The whole of this win- 
ter and the beginning of spring were devoted to expeditions 
againvSt guerillas and Confederate recruiting camps in south- 
ern Tennessee. Most of this time I commanded the regi- 
ment, four companies of which were mounted. We had to 
procure horses as best we could, here and there through the 
country. We had many skirmishes with the enemy, and cap- 
tured a number of prisoners. 

In the beginning of June we joined the forces that were be- 
sieging Yicksburg under the command of Gen. Grant, and 
remained there until that city had capitulated. The siege of 
Vicksburg is so well known from history that I shall make 
no attempt to describe it here. For five consecutive weeks 
the cannonading was so incessant that the soldiers became 
as accustomed to it as the passengers on a steamer to the 
noise of the propeller, and, when the capitulation finally put 
an end to all this noise, we found it very difficult to sleep for 
several nights on account of the unusual silence. 



Story of an Emigrant. 69 

Tiie July number of Hemlandet, contained a letter from 
me, dated Yicksburg, June 24th, from which I make the fol- 
lowing extract : 

"The army of Gen. Grant is divided into two Grand Divisions, one of 
which is arranged in a semi-circle toward Yicksburg, only a few hundred 
yards from the intrenchments of the rebels, the other in a semi-circle turnea 
away from Yicksburg, and fronting the army of Gen. Johnston. We are ah 
protected by strong intrenchments, and always keep over two thousand 
men as picket guards, and the same number are digging rifle pits and build- 
ing intrenchments. 

"Gen. Logan's Division is close np to the intrenchments of the rebels. 
The Swedish Maj. Stohlbrand is chief of artillery in Logan's Division, and, 
has, as such, under his special charge one of the most important positions 
in the beleaguering army. 

" I visited Gen. Logan yesterday, and will relate a little episode concern- 
ing this brave commander: "When Gen. Logan heard that I was a Swede, 
and wished to see Maj. Stohlbrand, who had just ridden out to look after his 
batteries, the general, being alwa3's full of fun, assumed a very solemn air, 
and said: ' Too bad you did not come an hour sooner, for then you could 
have seen Stohlbrand. There' — and he went to the door of his tent and 
pointed across the camp ground — 'there is the tent of Maj. Stohlbrand. 
Half an hour ago a bomb exploded from the main fort yonder. Poor Stohl- 
brand ! Only a few remnants were left of the contents of his tent. Poor 
Stohlbrand ! Perhaps you would like to see the remains?' 

"Accompanied by Gens. Stevenson, Ransom, and several other officers, I 
followed Gen. Logan to the tent of Stohlbrand. Then Logan said: 'Out 
of respect for poor Stohlbrand w^e have put everything in order again. 
Here you see his camp stool, there his uniform, and thereis his little field cot.' 
The bed looked as if a dead body v^as lying on it, covered by a blanket. 
Logan walked solemnly up to the head of the bed, lifted the blanket, and 
behold, there was only a bundle of rags! The rest of us, of course, sup- 
po&ed that Stohlbrand was dead, and that his corpse was lying on the bed. 
This little joke made the humorous Logan laugh so that his whole body 
shook. 

"As to the Swedes in the army, I may mention that, besides our Company 
D, there are in the same division the company of Capt. Arosenius of the 
Fort\'-third Illinois regiment, and that of Capt. Corncliuson of the 
Tvvent^'-third Wisconsin regiment, and a number of Swedes of the other 
regiments from Illinois and Wisconsin, and of the Fourth and Fifth Minne- 
sota regiments. Old Company D is a model, as usual, — the best one I have 
Seen yet. Both officers and men are quiet, orderly, cheerful and obedient, 
always faithful at their post, and ready to go wherever duty calls them. 
They are loved and respected by all who come in contact with them. When 



70 



Story of an Emigrant. 



I feel sad or despondent, all I need do is to walk along the camp street 
,'and take a look at some of my old Scandinavians. Their calm and earnest 
demeanor always makes me glad and proud. I ask for no greater honor 
than to point them out to some stranger, saying: 'This is my old 
company.' 

"Not these alone, however, but all of my countrj-men w^hom I met in 
the army have a good name, and are considered most reliable and able 
soldiers." 

I shall now relate a couple of anecdotes from the siege of 
Vicksburg, which I did not mention in the letter to Hem- 
landet. 




grant's headquarters. 



Outside Gen. Logan's tent stood a big magnolia tree. 
While laughing at Logan's joke Gen. Stevenson picked up a 
little stick of wood and whittled on it with his penknife, in 
genuine Yankee fashion. Accidently he dropped his knife, 
and, while stooping down to pick it up, a fragment of a 
shell from the rebel batteries came and went two inches deep 
into the tree right where his head had been when he was 
whittling. He coolly remarked, " That piece of iron was not 
made for me." 

One day as I, in company with Lieut. Col, (afterward 



Story of an Emigrant. 



7t 



Gen.) C. C. Andrews, was visiting Gen. Grant outside of 
Vicksburg, a wagon drawn by six mules passed close by his 
headquarters. The driver, an old, rough-looking soldier, 




ARMY WAGON. 



stopped, and asked the way to a certain regiment. Gen. 
Grant's tent stood on a little elevation, at the foot of which 
were several fresh wagon tracks. A number of officers, in- 
cluding myself, were standing and sitting around the general 
outside the tent. Gen. Grant, Mrho was dressed in a fatigue 
suit and slouched hat, without other marks of distinction 
than three small silver stars, which could scarcely be distin- 
guished on his dusty blouse, went toward the driver and, 
with the most minute particulars, gave him directions how 
to drive. While he was talking, we observed that the driver 
showed signs of deep emotion, and finally he alighted from 
the mule, which he was riding, stretched out his arms, and, 
with tears in his eyes, exclaimed: "My God! I believe it is 
Gen. Grant! General, do you remember Tommy Donald? 
I was a soldier in your company during the Mexican war ! " 
With touching kindness the great commander-in-chief now 
took both hands of the ragged soldier in his, and, like old 
friends who had not met for a long time, they rejoiced in 
remembering the companionship of fifteen years before. 

When Gen. Grant returned to the tent the conversation 
turned to the newspaper clamor and general discontent 



72 



Story of an Emigrant. 



because Yicksburg was not yet taken, upon whicli the gen- 
eral expressed himself in the following words : "I could make 
another assault and hasten the capture a few days, but will 
not do it because I know positively that within ten days the 
garrison must surrender anyhow, for I have got them, and 
will take them all. Let them howl. I don't care, I have 
got Pemberton tight as wax." Saying which, he closed his 
right hand and laid it on the little camp table with such 
force that I noticed the veins filling and turning blue on the 
back of his hand. These two little incidents give a key to 
Gen. Grant's whole character, and the secret of his unpar- 
alleled success, not only in winning battles, but in bagging 
the entire opposing force. 

A week later Yicksburg fell into our hands. We took 
thirty-two thousand prisoners, fifteen generals, two thou- 
sand other officers, and nearly two hundred cannon. 




GENERALS GRANT AND PEMBERTON. 

About a week after the surrender of Yicksburg the Third 



Story of an Emigrant. 73 

regiment was transferred to the Seventh army corps, under 
the command of Gen. Fred. Steele, and took part in the cam- 
paign against Little Rock. In the beginning of September, 
when we were only ten miles from Little Rock, our regiment 
enjoyed the distinction of marching at the head of the infant- 
ry column. We came upon the Confederate batteries on the 
west bank of the Arkansas river, where a brisk cannonade 
was opened. This combat afforded the most beautiful sight 
imaginable, if carnage and slaughter may be called beautiful. 
We stood on the east side of the river, the Co.ifederates 
on the west. The v^ater being very low, a steamer had been 
grounded about an eighth of a mile above us, and near the 
steamer the water was so shallow that the cavalry could 
ford the river ; but just in front of the Third regiment the 
water vt^as so deep that we had to throw a pontoon bridge 
for the infantry. 

Our regiment v^as stationed in a cornfield near the river 
bank to cover the march across the bridge, and the soldiers 
were ordered to lie down on the ground. But we found it 
very difficult to make them obey, for, in their eagerness to 
cross the river, they felt more like rushing ahead and shout- 
ing for joy. Many shots from the Confederate batteries 
passed over our heads, so low that the soldiers, in a sporting 
mood, jumped up and grabbed with their liands in the air, 
as if trying to catch them. In less than an hour the bridge 
across the deep channel was ready. A cavalrj^ btigade had 
meanwhile moved up to the ford above, and now the signal 
for crossing was given. The Confederates set fire to the 
steamer, v^hich thev were unable to save. 

It v^as about noon on one of those glorious autumn days 
peculiar to this country, v^hich greatly enhanced the impres- 
sion of the sublime spectacle then to be seen on the Arkansas 
river. The burning steamer reddening the atmosphere with 
brilliant flames of fire, a long line of cavalry fording the 



74 Story of an Emigrant. 

shallow river in three files, the infantry marching by the 
flank over the pontoon from which they jumped into the 
water, forming on double-quick, first companies, then bat- 
talion, whereupon they marched cheerily, in knee-deep water, 
under flying banners and to the beat of regimental music, 
while the air was filled with shells and balls. Before the 
infantry had reached the woods where the batteries of the 
enemy were hidden, the latter was already in retreat, and 
Little Rock soon fell into our hands. 

On our march into the captured city the next morning, the 
Third regiment was again accorded the place of honor at the 
head of the army. It was designated to act as provost- 
guard for the purpose of maintaining order, and the whole 
regiment was soon quartered in the state capitol. Gen. 
C. C. Andrews, who held the position of colonel at that 
time, was appointed post commander at Little Rock, and I, 
who had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel 
soon after the surrender of Vicksburg, took command of the 
regiment, whereby it became my duty to maintain law and 
order in the captured city. This was an onerous and difii- 
cult task, for it must be remembered that the only executive 
authority in the southern states during the war was vested 
in the army, and especially delegated to the provost oflScers 
and guards. The third regiment was occupied with this 
task until the following spring, and performed its duty so 
well that the governor of Arkansas, in a message, expressed 
himself regarding it, in the following language: 

" During the time of their service in our capital good order 
has prevailed, and they have commanded the respect of our 
citizens. When called upon to meet the enemy they have 
proven themselves equal to any task, and reliable in the hour 
of imminent danger. Such men are an honor to our govern- 
ment and the cause which they serve. Their state may justly 



Story of an Emigrant. 75 

feel proud of them, and they will prove themselves to be 
worthy sons of the same wherever duty calls them." 

Toward Christmas I was ordered to Fort Snelling, with 
a detachment of officers and non-commissioned officers, for 
the purpose of recruiting our decimated ranks. I remained 
on this duty till the month of March, and then returned 
with four hundred recruits. Shortly afterwards the battle 
of Fitzhugh's Woods, near Augusta, Arkansas, was fought, 
and the regiment distinguished itself by A^ery gallant con- 
duct. During the stay in Little Rock most of the soldiers 
had re-enlisted for three years, or until the close of the w^ar, 
whereby w^e acquired the title of ''Veteran Regiment." But 
that was not the only distinction which was conferred on 
our men. A large number of young soldiers had been pro- 
moted from the ranks to be officers in several negro regi- 
ments, which were organized in Tennessee and Arkansas, 
and some as officers of new regiments of our own state. 
Col. Andrews had meanwhile been promoted to the rank of 
brigadier-general, and, in April, 1864, I was promoted to 
colonel of the regiment in his place, and was shortly after- 
ward ordered to march with its eight hundred men to Pine 
Bluff, on the Arkansas river. 

From this time until the beginning of August the regiment 
experienced such hardships and sufferings from diseases and 
hard service, that it sustained far greater losses from these 
causes than any other regiment from our state had met with 
in open battle. Pine Bluff was a veritable pest-hole; the 
water was of a greenish color, the air full of germs of dis- 
ease and poisonous vapors. Continually surrounded and 
threatened by a vigilant enemy, the exhausted and sickly 
soldiers had to get up at three o'clock every morning for the 
purpose of working at the entrenchments and strengthening 
and protecting our position in different ways. Meanwhile 
the number of those fit for duty was daily decreasing at an 



7f) Story of an Emigrant. 

a])|)alling rate. The hospitals were overcrowded with pa- 
tients, and the few men left for duty were continually occu- 
pied in caring for the sick and burA-ing the dead, until there 
were not men enough left to bury their dead comrades, and 
I was obliged to ask a regiment, which had recently arrived, 
to help us perform that sad duty. 

At this critical moment I received orders from Washington 
to take six companies to Minnesota, on a six weeks' veteran 
furlough, to which the regiment was entitled. Those went 
who were able to. Many died on the way, but those of us 
who survived until we reached Minnesota were soon restored 
to usual health and strength, so that we could return in due 
time and again take part in the campaign in Arkansas. The 
remaining four companies, which had been furloughed the 
previous winter, were ordered from Pine Bluff to Duvall's 
Bluff, on White river, where the whole regiment was re- 
united under my command in the beginning of October, and 
remained in winter quarters until the spring of 1865. 

Shortly after our return to Arkansas 1 assumed command 
of the First Brigade, First Division, Seventh army corps. 
Thisbrigadeconsisted of my own regiment, the Twelfth Mich- 
igan, the Sixty-first Illinois, and a United States colored 
regiment. Our prospects for rf^maining in winter quarters 
for several months being favorable, many of the higher offi- 
cers sent for their wives. I did the same, having first 
erected a comfortable log house for us. My wife and two 
little children arrived a few days before Christmas, and 
stayed in' the camp the whole winter. No important event 
took place during the winter, excepting that w^e were once 
ordered to make an expedition up White river, with a con- 
siderable force of cavalry and infantry, and, after a fatiguing 
march, succeeded in breaking up a camp of irregular Confed* 
erate troops, and taking many prisoners. 



Story of an Emigrant. 



77 



I will relate two incidents which took place near Duvall's 
Bluff, one of a serious, the other of a comic nature. 

The first was the shooting of a young soldier of the 
Twenty-second Ohio regiment, who time and again had de- 
serted his post, and finally joined a band of rebel marauders. 
It became my sad duty to execute the sentence of death. My 
brigade formed a hollow square, facing inward, and the 
doomed man, a strong, handsome youth of twenty years, 
sat on a coffin in an open ambulance, w^hich was driven 
slowly along the inside of the square, while a band marched 
in front of the wagon playing a funeral march. After the 
completion of this sad march the deserter was placed in the 
middle of the square, in front of the coffin, with his eyes 
blind-folded. A detachment of twelve men under a ser- 
geant now fired simultaneously, upon the signal of the pro- 
vost marshal. Eight rifles were loaded with balls, and the 
unfortunate young man fell backwards into his coffin and 
died without a struggle. 




SHOOTIMG A DESERTER. 

One day while taking a ride on horseback in company with 



Y8 Story of an Emigrant. 

my wife, who had a fine saddle horse, and had become an 
expert rider during her long stay in the camp, we galloped 
mile after mile along the fine plain, outside of the picket- 
lines where men of my own brigade were on guard, till at 
last we found ourselves several miles from the place where 
we had passed through our lines. Returning toward camp, 
w^e struck the picket line at a point where a recently arrived 
regiment was stationed, and where the ground was soft and 
marshy. Being challenged by the guard I answered who I 
was, but as he could not plainly distinguish my uniform in 
the twilight and did not know me personally, he ordered us, 
with leveled gun, to stand still until he could call the officer 
of the guard. It was no easy matter to obe\^ his orders, 
for the horses continually sank down in the soft ground, but 
finally the officer arrived, and we succeeded in getting to 
the camp vv^ithout further trouble, I was not the first officer 
who thus got into trouble by neglecting to write out a pass 
for himself. 

On a fine April day, which can never be forgotten, the news 
came that our president, Abraham Lincoln, had been mur- 
dered. Stricken with consternation I hurried down to the 
Third regiment in person to tell the sad news. Never, either 
before or since, have I witnessed such a scene as the one that 
followed. Some of the men went completely wild with sor- 
row, weather-beaten veterans, embracing each other, wept 
aloud, others swore and cursed. In the prison yard, which was 
guarded by men belonging to my regiment, a rebel prisoner 
took off his cap, waived it in the air and cried, "Hurrah for 
Booth ! " A man by the name of Stark immediately loaded 
his gun and shot the rebel dead on the spot. Many others, 
both inside and outside the camp, were shot because they 
expressed joy at the death of Lincoln. Passions were 
strong, ynd all tolerance and patience exhausted among the 
Union soldiers on that occasion. The main army of the 



Story of an Emigrant. • 79 

Confederates had already surrendered when this calamity 
occurred, and the war was in fact over. A few days after 
ward we sent our families home. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Reconstruction hi the South — Third Regiment Mustered Out — The Fare- 
well Order — Sacrifices and Costs of the War. 



A very important work still remained to be accomplished 
by the union army, namely, the restoration of law and 
order in the southern states. I had the honor to be entrusted 
with a portion of that work, an account of which was given 
in a paper prepared and read by me before the commandery 
of the military order Loyal Legion, at one of its meetings in 
St. Paul, in March, 1889, from which I quote as follows: 

"After listening to the many interesting addresses on bat- 
tles and campaigns that have been read before the com- 
mandery at our monthly meetings, I fear that you will be 
disappointed, not only with the subject of this paper, but 
also with the commonplace incidents which I have to relate, 
and yet I think that the part taken by the Union army in 
the so-called reconstruction of civil government in the rebel- 
lious states immediately after the war deserves a place in the 
history of that army and of the war. All the world knows 
how bravely our soldiers fought, how willingly they endured 
hardships of the camp and of the wearisome march, how 
patiently they bore sickness, wounds, and sufferings of every 
kind, and how faithfully they obeved the orders of advance 
to danger and to death. But there is still another trait of 
their character, perhaps the greatest of thera all, that of the 
good citizen, who was able, as soon as the last smoke of 
battle had cleared away, to restrain all feelings of enmitv . 

— 80 — 



Story of an Emigrant. 81 

and revenge, to take the enemy by the hand, to guide, help, 
and protect him and his in all the rights of citizenship, and 
it is of that I would relate some facts that came under my 
own observation and experience. 

" Plaving been stationed at Du vall's Bluff, Arkansas, in com- 
mand of a brigade, of which my own regiment, the Third 
Minnesota infantry, formed a part, I received orders from 
Maj. Gen. J. J, Reynolds, commanding the Department of 
Arkansas, on the 15th of May, 1865, to establish a military 
post at Batesville, Arkansas, on the upper White river, and 
to take command of a district comprising the north-eastern 
portion of that state. The field organization of the Seventh 
army corps, to which we belonged, was being broken up. 
Some of the regiments were sent home to be mustered out of 
service; others were sent to different points for purposes of 
occupation. My own regiment and two squadrons of the 
Ninth Kansas Cavalry were detailed for the work given in 
my charge. 

"On the 18th of May we embarked on steam transports, 
and reached Batesville on the 20th. A few days later my post 
headquarters was established at Jacksonport, and the 
troops were distributed at different points with one or two 
companies for each, at Batesville, Searcy, Augusta, Powhat- 
an; and the main force at Jacksonport, from which point 
frequent cavalry patrols were sent to the outlying stations, 

"The topography of that country is very irregular and 
unique. The eastern portion, bordering upon the Missis- 
sippi, is flat and marshy, with many lakes and bayous, and has 
a rich, alluvial soil. The other portion is very broken, with 
hills and mountain ridges, rocks, caves and beautiful streams, 
but poor soil. The lowlands had been occupied by wealthy 
slave owners, whose sympathies were strong for the South- 
ern cause. The highlands were occupied by the poorer class, 
nrlv a few of whom had owned slave'?. Mnnr of this class 



82 Story of an Emigrant. 

were strong Union men, and soldiers in the Union army. 
During the great struggle of four years many bloody trag- 
edies had been enacted between the loyal and the rebel resi- 
dents, and bitter feelings of revenge still rankled in the 
breasts of the survivors. During the whole period of the 
war the country had been swept clean, at rapid intervals, 
by both armies alternately, and each time new atrocities 
had been perpetrated, and all the worst passions of the peo- 
ple rekindled. It had also been a place of refuge for the 
worst rebel elements in southern Missouri, when too hardly 
pressed by our friend Gen. Sanborn""' and other Union com- 
manders. At the time of our arrival the surviving soldiers 
from both armies were returning to their homes, also man}' 
refugfces, — rebels from Texas and Union men from the North, 
— most of them to find their families destitute and their 
property destroyed. 

"The irregular Confederate troops under Gen. Jeff. Thomp- 
son, numbering some eight thousand men, had not yet sur- 
rendered, but were scattered over the district in a thoroughW 
demoralized condition, so that the whole situation was 
rather peculiar and ver}' bad, and it was a difficult task to 
prevent fresh outbreaks, and to restore order and get the 
people started anew in the peaceful avocations of life. 

"Mv instructions were to preserve law and order, to organ- 
ize and arm companies of home colonists for self-protection, 
to encourage agriculture and commerce, and to assist the 
citizens in restoring civil government. The men under my 
command during the early reconstruction period had cer- 
tainly no reason to love Arkansas, because they had not only 
buried their best friends and comrades within its borders, 
but had themselves for months and months experienced there 
that dreadfu' suffering most feared by all soldiers, and for 
which few receive any credit, — namely, the inglorious prlva- 

•Gen. John B. Sanborn, who was present when this paper was read. 



Story of an Emigrant. 83 

tion of the silent watch, — in the swamp, in the trenches, in 
the hospital, on the camp-stretcher, and in the ambu- 
lance, — when tired, sore, sick, thirsty, lonelj^ and seem- 
ingly forsaken by God and man, unknown and with praise 
unsung, with no cheering sound of drum or bugle, no battle 
flag or cheer in sight or hearing, no voice of comrades or of 
guns, and no magic touch of elbows or shouts of victory. 
These men had experienced all that, and had no special rea- 
son to sympathize with the inhabitants who had done their 
full share to bring them into so much misery. And now 
observe how they treated those inhabitants. Immediately 
on arriving at Batesville the following order was promul- 
gated, and, by the aid of an old printing press and swift 
couriers, scattered all over the district : 

' Headquarters U. S. Forces, 
'Batesville, Ark.., May 22, 1865. 
'General Order No. 1. 

'I. It is hereby announced to the people of Batesville and surrounding 
country that the chief object of the federal occupation of this place is their 
protection against armed forces, of whatever kind, to give encouragement 
to agriculture and other peaceful pursuits, and to restore commercial inter- 
course. 

' II. The public safety and mutual interests demand that all persons liv- 
ing within our lines and enjoying the protection of the nation's forces shall 
declare their obedience to the government. 

'III. It is ordered, therefore, that all persons now-'living or hereafter 
coming within our picket-lines who have not taken but desire to take the 
oath of allegiance, with the purpose of restoring and establishing the 
national authority, shall register their names without delay in the provost 
marshal's office, where the oath will be administered. 
'By order of 

'CoL. H. Mattson, Commanding. 
•p. E. FoLSOM, Lieutenant and Post Adjutant.' 

"On the same day a beginning was made to organize com- 
panies of home colonists among the great number of Union 
refugees who had followed the troops to Batesville. Arms 
and ammunition were placed in their hands, and the follow- 
ing instruction given: 



84 Story of an Emigrant. 

'Heapquakters U. S. Forces, 
'Batesyille. Ark., May 22, 1865. 

To the members of Companies of Home Colonists : ' 

'You will, as soon as practicable, depart with your families to your 
several homes, and there proceed to cultivate the land and secure a crop for 
the coming year. 

'The arms and ammunition w^ith w^hich you have n iw been furnished by 
the government of the United States are for the piot'ction of yourselves 
and families, and for no other purpose. 

'The laws of 3'our state guarantee you full redress for private injuries; 
you will therefore leave all disputes and wrongs to be settled by them and 
by the military authority of the United States, and it is only against the 
armed force of maraiiders that you will resort to the use of these arms; 
remember, always, that 3'ou are not soldiers, but citizens. 

'You will promptly report to your own officers and to the military 
commander of this post any information 3-ou may obtain of armed forces 
of marauders ; and in case of emergency you are authorized to act as a 
military body in pursuing them. Tlie commanding officer will always 
extend to you aid, both in men and subsistence, so far as lies in his power, 
but you must, like free and independent citizens, place yourselves, by 
industrious labor, as soon as possible, beyond the necessity of federal 
support. 

'Let 3'our conduct among your late enemies be such as w^ill elicit their 
Iriendship. 

' By assisting me to carry out the magnanimous polic^^ of our govern- 
ment 3'ou will soon have peace and security restored to your commu- 
nity, and happiness and plenty to yourselves and your families. 
"By order of 

' Col. H. Mattson, Commanding. 

*P. E. FoLSOM, Lieutenant and Post Adjutant.' 

"In a remarkably short time the news of the poh'cy thus 
announced spread to the most remote parts of the district, 
and had a very beneficial eflect. It inspired hope and confi- 
dence everywhere. The disloyal people came ont of their 
hiding places, and, with apparent sincerit}' and gratitude, 
took the oath of allegiance, and went to work as good citi- 
zens to perform their part in the work of reconstruction. 
Union men and rebels shook hands over the bloody chasm, 
and agreed to bur3'^ the past and work together for a better 
future. 



Story of an RMir.RAXT. 85 

"Sooti another class of people came in large numbers to 
seek help and protection from the Union forces. It was the 
poverty-stricken old men, and the women and children who 
had lost their natural protectors. It was a sight sad enough 
to move the stoutest hearts to look at their helplessness and 
misery, and I never had a more pleasant duty to perform 
than that of relieving their wants at the expense of our gen- 
erous government. The department commander had placed 
a steamboat at my disposal, and given me unlimited power 
to draw on the commissary stores at Duvall's Bluff. That 
steamer made regular trips with supplies for all who were 
actually in need, and most of the applicants returned to 
their homes with plenty of flour, bacon, salt, seed, corn and 
other necessaries, with a government mule sometimes 
thrown in to carry the load home, and there was no distinc- 
tion made between rebels and Unionists, except that the 
form.er were placed on their good behavior as to their future 
conduct. It was in this work that our soldiers, — officers 
and men, — showed without exception, that trait of char- 
acter which entitles them to filename of exemplary citizens as 
well as exemplary soldiers, which they had previously earned 
in a service of four years. They never forgot that the con- 
quered inhabitants were our own people, and members of 
the same great republic. 

"After a while our picket lines were withdrawn, and only 
enough guards posted to take care of the public property. 
Citizens and soldiers mingled freely in social intercourse, not 
as conquerors and conquered, but as friends and equals, our 
men interesting themselves in everything that tended to the 
welfare of the citizens, often helping them in their work and 
business, and always treating the helpless with gallantry 
and tenderness. On the Fourth of July citizens and soldiers, 
ex-rebels and Union men, to the number of man}^ hundreds, 
met under the stars and stripes, in a lovely grove, to celebrate 



S6 Story of an Emigrant. 

the day around an old-fashioned barbecue, and, for nearly 
two daj's and a night, enjoyed a feast of brotherly love and 
good will, all proud of the old banner, and happy to be 
again united as one people. 

"During the summer elections were held for town and 
county officers, and as soon as such officers had qualified, the 
soldiers, even more readil}' than the citizens themselves, did 
all in their power to uphold their authority. In many in- 
stances good penmen and accountants among the soldiers 
gave their services gratuitously to help the newly-elected civil 
officers start their books and accounts. To the honor of the 
rebels, especially the returned soldiers, I must say that they 
behaved in a most exemplary manner, and accepted the situa- 
tion with good grace and acted most cordially and lo3^ally 
toward us. The Freedmen's Bureau was not established 
in that district during my time of command, but I was in- 
formed by a friend, Maj. J. M. Bowler, who had com- 
mand the following winter, that the planters generally 
yielded to the requirements of that department as soon as it 
was established; that they made fair contracts with the lib- 
erated slaves and strictly and carefully observed them, and 
were in all respects considerate toward the freedmen gener- 
ally. Of course, I do not mean to say that all the citizens 
behaved so well. There were exceptions, even in the first 
days of reconstruction, and those exceptions were nearly all 
b}'^ the men who had never faced the Union soldiers in open 
battle, but had either skulked or resorted to guerilla war- 
fare. But I do mean to say that in those early days, before 
President Johnson had began to show his final hand, the 
rebels were disposed to accept the situation in a manly and 
loyal way, and that, if the polic}'^ inaugurated bj-- the Union 
army had been adhered to, the country would probably 
have been saved from the Ku-Klux and other horrors of a 
later period. 



Story of an Emigrant. S7 

"Otie strange fact was deeply impressed upon myminddnr- 
ing the time of my command in Northeastern Arkansas, 
nameW, the genuine regret and sorrow among the returning 
rebel soldiers over President Lincoln's death. They not 
only respected him, but actually regarded him as a friend, 
because they believed him to be kind and just; so that, 
whatever measures he might have adopted, had he lived, 
they believed that they could have submitted to them with 
full confidence that it would be for the best. I can not better 
illustrate that feeling, as it was daily manifested to me, than 
by comparing it to the faith and confidence of erring chil- 
dren to an offended but loving father. 

*' The most noted and influential rebel in the district at that 
time was, undoubtedly, Gen. Jeff. Thompson. On the 3d 
of June this noted general arrived at my headquarters at Jack- 
sonport, pursuant to previous arrangements, to surrender 
his command, consisting of eight thousand officers and men, 
who began to crowd in on that and the following day in 
great numbers. They were the hardest looking soldiers I 
have ever seen. Jeff. Thompson himself was a man of com- 
manding appearance, and a perfect gentleman. In my jour- 
nal of that day I have described him as follows: *He is a 
tall, sinewy, weather-beaten man, a queer looking genius, 
dressed in a suit of snowy white, from the plume in his hat 
to the heel of his boot, and with a white sword-belt and 
white gloves. He is a clever chap, full of fun, telling great 
yarns, and an incessant talker.' I should judge he was 
about forty-five years old. On the third day after his arrival 
the troops had all assembled, and the surrender took place 
in due form. A staff ofBcer from the Department of Missouri 
and another from the Department of Arkansas witnessed 
the proceedings and received the documents. When all was 
finished, Jeff. Thompson had his men assemble on the levee 
in front of a steamboat, from the cabin-deck of which he 



SS Story of an Emigrant. 

delivered his farewell address. I stood by his side while he 
spoke, and expected every moment to see him pierced by 
some well-directed bullet from the crowd on shore, but he 
was allowed to finish his address without interruption, after 
which the men slunk out of sight, and before evening the 
whole motley crowd had left the town with the determina- 
tion, as I verily believe, to follow the good advice of their 
general. The address deserves a place among our papers, 
and I will read it, as it appeared a few weeks later in Har- 
per's Magazine, from a verbatim report made by one of m}- 
officers. He said: 

' Many of the eight thousand men I now see around me, very many of 
you. have been skulking for the last three years in the swamps within a few 
miles of your own homes, — skulking duty, — and during that time have not 
seen your own children. I see many faces about me that have not been 
seen by mortal man ior the last three years; and what have you been doing 
all that time? Why, you have been lying in the swamps until the moss has 
grown six inches long on your backs, and such men call themselves " chival- 
rous soldiers." A few weeks ago Gen. Reynolds sent a flag of truce to my 
headquarters, and I sent out to gather a respectable force to meet those 
officers, and not one of you responded. A few days later, when Col. Davis 
and Capt. Bennett, of Gen. Dodge's staff, bore dispatches to me from that 
general, I attempted again to call about me enough of j^ou to make a re- 
spectable show, and how many of these brave men reported at the call? 
One sore-eyed man with green goggles. But you rally lik< brave and gal- 
lant men around Uncle Sam's commissary stores, and I have now come to 
surrender you, and hope that you will make better citizens than j-ou have 
soldiers. 

'Those of vou who had arms, with a few exceptions, have left them al 
home, and those who had government horses have failed to report them 
here. Now let me say to you, one and all, those of 3'ou who have retained 
your arms, as soon as jj^ou get home take them to the nearest military' post 
and deliver them up, or burn them, or get rid of them in some manner, for 
as sure as there is a God in heaven, if they are found in 3'our houses, just so 
sure will your houses be burned to the ground; and 1 hope to God every 
one of you who keep good arms or military property of any kind in your 
houses will be hanged; and you will, too. 

' But I want you to go home and work hard and take care of your fern- 



'" Story of an emigrant. S9 

ilies. Work early and late, and get up at night and see if your crops ar« 
growing. Above all things avoid political discussions. If any man says 
"nigger" to you, swear that you never knew or saw one in your life. We 
have talked about the niggers for forty years, and have been out-talked. 

We have fought four j^ears for the niggers, and have been d d badly 

whipped, and now it is not "3'our put." The Yankees have won the nigger 
and w^ill do what they please with him, and you have no say in the matter. 
If they want him they will take him ; and if they sa\^ that 3'ou must keep 
him, you have to do it, and no mistake. I tell you that you have no say in 
the matter, and you oughtn't to have any. Go home and stay there. 
Don't go anywhere but to mill. Don't go to church, for the minister will 
put knots and mischief in your heads, and get you into trouble. Be good 
citizens, and then those of you who have been good, honest and brave sol- 
diers need have nothing to fear; but I warn those of you who have been 
nothing but sneaking, cowardly jayhawkers, cutthroats and thieves, that 
a just retribution awaits you, and I hope to God that the federal authori- 
ties will hang you, wherever and w^henever they find you, and they will do 
it, sure. 



'Do not complain if 3^ou are not permitted to have a voice in elections and 
civil affaii's. You have forfeited all such rights, and it now^ becomes you to 
submit to such laws and regulations as the federal authorities may deem 
proper to enact. I believe and know that they will do the best they can for 
you, especially if j'ou show henceforth that you now desire to merit their 
confidence by strict obedience to the laws w^here you may reside. 

'We are conquered and subjected; we have no rights, but must accept 
such privileges and favors as the government may see proper to bestow 
upon us. Ag.-Mu I sa3% go home; attend to your business, and try to raise 
a newgeneration of boys that shall become better meVi than you have been.' 

"Jeff. Thompson lived many years after that day, a good 
and loyal citizen. He was a braA^e and generous man, and 
had always treated our prisoners with humanity whenever 
they had fallen into his hands. His advice to his soldiers 
echoed the sentiments of the better class of the rebels in the 
district at that time. 

" We remained there the whole summer, always impatient 
to be mustered out and return to our own homes, but never 
deviating from the orderly and friendly position first taken. 
Many of the men formed friendships and other connections 
that have lasted ever since. Some of them returned after 



'JO Stukv of an Emigrant. 

tlieir muster out, and are still counted among the best citi- 
zens of that state; some formed engagements with the 
country girls, and went back to marry them. One of my 
young captains, a fine St. Paul boy, brought with the regi- 
ment to Minneapolis, as his bride, the most beautiful woman, 
as well as the most bitter rebel, of that portion of Arkansas, 
and I am glad to say that, although she soon returned with her 
gallant husband to her native state, where they still reside, she 
is now, and has been ever since, as true and loyal to our 
banner and our cause as any of our Northern wives and 
mothers. 

"I would not have it understood that all our work was 
so pleasant and peaceful. Sometimes we had to deal with 
tough cases of both sexes, and then the iron hand of power 
was freely used to restrain, but seldom to punish. As a 
relic of old slave times I will relate one incident of many that 
came under my observation. 

"One day a very tidy negro woman came and reported 
that her late master had recently killed her husband. I sent 
for the former master. He was a leading physician, a man 
of fine addi'css and culture, who lived in an elegant mansion 
near the city. He sat down and told me the story, nearly 
word for word as the woman did. It was substantially^ as 
follows: Tom, the negro, had been his body-servant since 
both were children, and, since his freedom, still remained in 
the same service. Tom had a boy about eight years old. 
This boy had done some mischief, and I (said the doctor) 
called him in and gave him a good flogging. Tom was out- 
side and heard the boy scream, and after a while he pushed 
open the door and took the bo}^ from me, telling me that I 
had whipped him enough. He brought the boy into his own 
cabin, and then started foi town. I took my gun and ran 
after him. When he saw me coming he started on a run and 
I shot him, of course. "Wouldn't you have done the same? " 



Story of an Emigrant. 91 

he asked me with an injured look. The kiUing of his negro 
for such an offence seemed so right and natural to him that 
he was perfectly astonished when I informed him that he 
would have to answer to the charge of murder before a 
military commission at Little Rock, where he was at once 
sent for trial. What a great change in sentiment a quarter 
of a century has produced ! Our children will never learn to 
realize w'hat a curse slavery was, even while some of them 
were in their cradles. 

"It has been said that the old soldiers occasionally did a 
little foraging on their own hook, while in the enemy's coun- 
try, and I rather think they did ; but I wish to state most 
solemnly, that whatever bad habits the boys might have 
had in that respect before the surrender of the Confederate 
arm3% they reformed at once after that event, most thor- 
oughly and sincerely, and during the whole summer of 1865, 
although scattered over a wide country, and almost free 
from military duty and restraint, there was never a com- 
plaint made against a man in my command, for depredation 
of any kind, and I verily believe that the rights of property, 
even down to the beloved shoat and chicken, were held as 
sacred by the Union soldiers in our district during that time 
as those rights are ordinarily held in any well-governed 
country during times of peace. All things considered I am 
fully convinced that the excellent conduct of our soldiers in 
the South during the early days of reconstruction, when the 
army took a prominent part in that work, did more to es- 
tablish law and order and to foster friendly- and loyal senti- 
ments towards the Union, than all the laws and constitu- 
tional amendments enacted for that purpose. Had the 
great and noble Lincoln lived, or even if President Johnson had 
remained true to the principles of his early life, and left the 
Union soldiers at liberty to carry out the firm but humane 
policy of reconstruction which they inaugurated under the 



92 Story of an Emigrant. 

inspiration of Grant and Sherman, we would have had not 
only a united country, but a loyal and law abiding people 
in the South a quarter of a century ago, because the Union 
soldier was the best citizen and the best teacher of good cit- 
izenship. Armies of other nations have achieved victories as 
great as ours, other soldiers than ours have been patient, 
obedient, enduring and brave, but none in the world's his- 
tory have shown such greatness in civic virtues as the Union 
soldiers of the war of the Rebellion." 

In the beginning of September, 1865, the regiment was 
ordered home, and on September 16th it was mustered out 
at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on which occasion the follow- 
ing general order was read : 

' General Order No. 16. 
' Officers and Men of the Third Minnesota Regiment : 

' After four years of active service this regiment is about to be disbanded. 
Before another day you will all have received your honorable discharges 
and be on yoin- way to your quiet, happy homes. The familiar sound of 
the bugle and drum will no longer be heard among us. The "Stars and 
Stripes," which we have all learned to love, vill no longer wave over our 
ranks. 

' You have toiled, struggled and suffered much during the last four years, 
yet to those who are now here to enjoy the triumph over our enemies and 
the peace and prosperity of our country, the reward is ample. I know that 
w^e will all regard the acts of those years as the noblest and proudest of 
our lives. For those, our noble comrades, who have fallen victims in the 
struggle, let us always, with the most tender affection, cherish their 
memory. 

' You have served your country nobly and faithfully in ever_v field where 
duty called you, and I am proud to assert that on every occasion 
and in every locality, from the northwestern frontier, against the savage 
Indian foes, to the deathly swamps of the Yazoo and Arkansas valleys, 
against the haughty Southern rebels, — wherever this regiment has been, its 
rank and file, its bone and sinew, the true representatives of our noble 
young state, have ever reflected honor and credit on that state. 

' As your commanding officer 1 am greatly indebted to you all, officers 
and men, for your admirable conduct on all occasions, for your vcaAy obe- 
dience of oiders, and for your fidelity, patriotism and perseverance in the 
discharge of all vour toilsome duties. 



Story of an Emigrant. 93 

* In bidding you farewell, I give you all my most hearty thanks. May 
peace, prosperity and happiness ever be your reward. 

' For me, the greatest honor, — greater far than I ever expected to 
achieve, — is the fact of having so long commanded, and at last led home in 
triumph and peace, the alwa3^s dear and noble Thii-d Minnesota Regiment. 

' H. Mati^son, 
'Colonel Commanding Regiment. 
*P. E. FoLSOM', Lieutenant and Adjutant.' " 

During this war the Union army had mustered in 2,883,- 
000 men, 400,000 of whom had lost their lives. To this 
army Minnesota contributed 25,052, or about one-seventh 
of her entire population. Of this number 2,500 Mrere killed or 
died of sickness during the war, and it is calculated that 
5,000 died since the vsrar on account of v^ounds and diseases 
contracted during service. The Third regiment had, during 
four years' service, a total enrollment of 1,417, of which 
number there were left only 432 men when we returned in 
September, 1865. The war cost the Union about two bil- 
lion, seven hundred million dollars. The sacrifice of gold 
and blood was not too great. Not only America, but the 
whole human race has gained more through the victories of 
our army than can be estimated in gold and blood. And the 
Scandinavians of the West may justly feel proud of the part 
they took in this struggle for liberty and human rights. 



CHAPTER Vlir. 

My Reason for Taking Part in the Civil War — The Dignity of Labor — The 
Firm Mattson & Webster — Sveaska Awerikanaren, its Program and 
Reception — The State Emigration Bureau of Minnesota — Its Aim.i 
Plan and Work. 



The war which closed with the events narrated in the last 
chapter was one of the most important of modern times, 
and proved the greatness and the resources of the American 
people never properly appreciated before. But it revealed a 
still greater nobility of character when our immense army, 
after four years' service, suddenly disbanded, its soldiers 
quietly and peacefully returning to their common daily toil 
w^ithout the least disorder or disturbance of any kind. The 
swords were turned into plowshares as quietly and naturall}' 
as if they never had been steeped in blood. 

For my own part — and that was undoubtedly the case 
with most of our volunteers — I entered the service because 
I considered it to be my duty to do my little part in defend- 
ing the country which had adopted me as a citizen, and not, 
as many have supposed, on account of ambition or for the 
sake of gain ; in fact, as has been shown already, I resigned 
a more important and remunerative position in the civil 
service than the one I first accepted in the army; hence it 
was quite easy for me to exchange the uniform for the plain 
garb of the citizen and hang my sword among the reminis- 
cences of the past. 



64 



Story of an Emigrant. 95 

One day shortly after my arrival home, while walking 
along a street in Red Wing, I noticed a former professor of a 
university, who had been a captain in the Sixth regiment 
working in his shirt sleeves with a plane and helping to 
build a house. After saluting him I asked how he liked this 
kind of work, to which he answered that another professor 
had been appointed in his place while he was in the war, and 
being through with the service, he neither liked nor could 
afford to be idle. Having acquired some skill in handling 
carpenter's tools in his youth, he said he found it easy to get 
work at two dollars a day, and meanwhile he could be on 
the look-out for a position as professor of mathematics at 
some college or university. 

Here is the key to the greatness of this country: Labor is 
respected, while in most other countries it is looked down 
upon with slight. The former professor and Capt. Wilson was 
soon thereafter appointed state superintendent of schools, 
while, if he had remained idle and dependent upon his rela- 
tives and friends for assistance, too proud to w^ork, he would 
most likely' have been looking around for something to turn 
up to this day. 

Another little incident, which occurred about this time 
may interest the Swedish reader. The great Gen. Sherman 
visited St. Paul, and a banquet was given to him at which 
I was present. During the conversation I asked about the 
Swedish Gen. Stohlbrand. "Do you know him?" Gen. Sher- 
man inquired. "Yes, sir; he is my countryman, and we 
served in the same regiment in Sweden," I said. "Then," 
said he, "you may be proud of your old comrade, for a 
braver man and a better artillery officer than Gen. Stohl- 
brand could not be found in our entire army." 

At the same time the general told the following : Stohl- 
brand had served in his corps for some time with the rank of 
major, and performed such services as properly belong to a 



96 Story of an Emigrant. 

colonel or brigadier-general without being promoted accord- 
ing to his merits, because there had been no vacancy in the 
regiment to which he belonged. Displeased with this,Stohl- 
brand sent in his resignation, which was accepted, but Sher- 
man had made up his mind not to let him leave the arm^^ 
and asked him to go by way of Washington on his return 
home, pretending that he ^wished to send some important 
dispatches to President Lincoln. In due time Stohlbrand 
arrived in Washington and handed a sealed package to 
President Lincoln in person. Having looked the papers 
through the president extended his hand exclaiming: "How 
do you do, General!" Stohlbrand, correcting him, said; "I 
am no general, I am only a major." "You are mistaken," 
said Lincoln, "you are a general," — and he -was from that 
moment. In a few hours he received his commission and re- 
turned to the army with a rank three degrees higher than 
that he held a few days before. 

The subject of the conversation thus being Swedish officers, 
several honorable deeds were told of some of them, among 
others, how Col. Vegesack, his regiment making a charge 
w^ith leveled bayonets, and his color-bearer receiving a mor- 
tal wound, himself seized the colors and led his regiment to 
victory. 

Soon after the close of the war a well-known lawyer and 
m^^self opened a law office in Red Wing, the name of the 
new firm being Mattson & Webster. I had successfully prac- 
ticed law but a few months when it was announced that a 
new Swedish newspaper, to be called Svenska Amerikanaren, 
was to be established in Chicago. This enterprise was 
backed by a number of prominent Swedes of Illinois, who 
appointed me editor in chief without my knowledge or so- 
licitation. At that time there was only one Swedish news- 
paper in this country, viz., Hetnlandet, which was more of a 
church than a political paper, hence this was an open and 



Storv 0-" AN Emigrant 97 

large field for me. I accepted the appointment on condition 
that I should not move to Chicago, but simply help to start 
the paper and put it on a firm footing, and that I should be 
allowed to resign in case I found this kind of work unfavor- 
able to my health, wdiich had been very seriously affected by 
the hardships and sufl'erings of the war. 

On September 18, 1866, the first number of the Svenska 
Anierikanaren was published. I quote from the article an- 
nouncing m^^ having assumed editorialchargeof thepaperas 
follows: "It shall be my ambition to so write as to advance 
the interest of the laboring people of our nationalitv, and to 
guide them in becoming good American citizens. I am one of 
that class m\'self, and duringmy residence in the settlements of 
the West I have learned to know their wants." The paper 
was very favorably received both in this country and in 
Sweden, and, under the name of Svenska Tribunen, is 
still exercising a great and good influence among the Sv/ed- 
ish Americans. 

The following winter (1867) the legislature of Minnesota 
established a state bureau with the purpose of inducing im- 
migrants to settle in the state, and I was appointed by 
Gov. W. R. Marshall to be secretary of the board of emi- 
gration, with the governor and secretary of state as ex- 
o^cio members ; the Rev. John Ireland, now Catholic Arch- 
bishop of Minnesota, was also for a time a member of that 
board. 

The St. Paul Press for March 14, 1867, contained the fol- 
lowing concerning the new board : 

"The state board of emigration, composed of Gov. Mar- 
shall, Col. Rogers and Col. Mattson, was organized yester- 
day, and a general plan of operation agreed upon. We learn 
that the board concluded that, with the limited means at 
their disposal, it was not advisable to employ agents to 
work in Europe, but to use every practicable effort to turn 



98 Story of an Emigrant. 

immigrants to Minnesota, after their arrival in this country. 
Efforts will be made to procure the publication of facts in 
regard to the state, in eastern and European journals; to 
make arrangements with railroads, more advantageous to 
emigrants than, heretofore and to afford them through in- 
terpreters and otherwise reliable information in regard to 
the best routes to the state from eastern parts. To give the 
emigrant a general idea of the characteristics of every local- 
ity in Minnesota, it is proposed to procure a map or chart 
ol the state, showing its boundaries, streams, lakes, naviga- 
ble rivers, timber and prairie sections, etc." 

One of my first and most pleasant duties as secretary of 
the board was to secure aid for the settlers along the Minne- 
sota river. This locality had suffered from drought the 
previous A^ear, and the settlers, most of whom were Swedes, 
Norwegians and Finlanders, were almost entirely destitut-e, 
and had no grain left for seed. Having secured an order 
from the government in Washington for provisions from the 
commissary department at Fort Ridgely, and being fur- 
nished with a letter of credit from our own state, I left for 
the stricken territory in the beginning of April, passing 
through the counties of Redwood, Renville, Yellow Medicine 
and Chippewa. At New Ulm several hundred sacks of 
flour were purchased, and at Fort Ridgely large quantities 
of ptovislons were taken out of the United States military 
stores. Agents were appointed to distribute the?.e among 
the people, seed wheat and corn were shipped there from the 
South, and the settlers were thus relieved. 

Soon after my return to St. Paul the board of emigration 
was again called together, and I was authorized to appoint 
Swedish, Norw^egian and German agents and interpreters to 
meet our emigrants in New York and Quebec, and be their 
guides and protectors on the journey through the country 
to our state. Temporary homes were also secured until the 



Story of an Emigrant. 99 

commissioners in the service of the board could get vv'ork for 
those who v\"anted to work out, and direct the rest to the 
interior of the state, where the}'^ could settle on government 
land or buy cheap land from private parties. 

Arrangements were made with newspapers in different 
languages for publishing articles written by myself and 
others, w^hich contained descriptions of Minnesota and its 
resources. Pamphlets and maps with more detailed accounts, 
were printed in Swedish, Norwegian and German, and dis- 
tributed in the respective countries, on board the ocean 
steamers, at the railroad stations and at other convenient 
places. I was the author of nearly all of this literature, in 
which great pains were taken to describe everything in 
detail; how the chests or boxes ought to be made and 
marked before leaving the old country; what articles ought 
to be taken along; what kind of provisions were most 
suitable; what measures ought to be taken with reference 
to cleanliness and behavior during the long and tedious 
journe\', etc. On my visits among our western farmers 
years afterwards I have often seen pamphlets in Swedish 
and Norwegian with my name as author standing in the 
little bookshelf side by side with the Bible, the prayer-book, 
the catechism, and a few other reminiscpnces from the old 
country. I also spent some time attending to the needs of 
the emigrants in the sea-ports and in Chicago, made arrange- 
ments with railroad companies forsecuring better accommo- 
dations and even free tickets for hundreds of emigrants, who 
would otherwise have been compelled to part with their 
companions before reaching their place of destination. 

While performing my duty as secretary of the board of 
emigration I also acted as land agent for one of our great- 
est railroad companies, whose line went through Wright, 
Meeker, Kandiyohi, Swift and Stevens counties, and near 
Lake Ripley, in Meeker county. I purchased some eight 



100 



Story of an Emigrant. 



hundred acres of land for myself, on which I made extensive 
improvements and spent some time as a farmer. 




In the above-named localities there were only a few widely 
scattered families when I went there in 1867, while it is now 
one continuous Scandinavian settlement, extending over a 
territory more than a hundred miles long and dotted over 
with cities and towns, largely the result of the work of the 
board of emigration during the years 1867, 1868 and 1869. 



Storv of an Emigrant. 101 

The board of emigration did not show partiality toward 
any portion of the state, but did all its work with a view to 
the interest of the whole community. Our efforts, however, 
in behalf of Minnesota brought on a great deal of envA' and 
ill-will from people in other states who were interested in 
seeing the Scandinavian emigration turned towards Kansas 
and other states, and this feeling went so far that a promi- 
nent newspaper writer in Kansas accused me of selling my 
countrymen to a life not much better than slavery in a land 
of ice, snow and perpetual winter, where, if the poor emi- 
grant did not soon starve to death, he would surely perish 
with cold. Such was at that time the opinion of many con- 
cerning Minnesota. I would be more than human if I did 
not, in recalling these incidents, point with pride and satis- 
faction to the condition of the Scandinavians in Minnesota 
to-day, but will return to this further on. 

The position which I held enabled me to be of service to 
countrymen in more ways than one. Thus the interests of 
the church were by no means neglected, and I think my 
readers will excuse me for inserting the following lines from 
the minutes of the eighth annual council of the Swedish 
Augustana S3'nod, held in Berlin, 111., June 13, 1867: 

"Whereas, The same conference reports that Col.Mattson 
has offered to procure sites for churches, parsonages and 
burial grounds for Lutheran churches in the new Scandina- 
vian settlements in Western Minnesota, 

"Therefore Resolved, That the synod express its thanks to 
Col. Mattson, and request him to get deeds on said property 
to be given to the different churches of the Augustana 
Synod, as soon as they are organized at the different places." 

It has always been admitted that during those years the 
emigrants destined for Minnesota received better care, guid- 
ance and protection than \Yas ever accorded to a like class 
before or after that time. It is also acknowledged that the 



102 Story of an Emigrant. 

state received great benefits in return by being settled by a 
superior class of emigrants from the northern countries. As 
for my own share in that work, although my efforts were 
sometimes misunderstood and I myself blamed, as any one 
will be who has to deal with newly-arrived emigrants, I 
felt much pride and satisfaction in the ■work, knowing that 
not only the state, but the emigrants themseh'es, and even 
the serving and laboring classes remaining in the old coun- 
tries, were very greath' benefited thereby. While laboring 
hard for immigration to Minnesota my chief object was to 
get the emigrants away from the large cities and make 
them settle on the unoccupied lands in the northwest, where 
the climate was suitable to them, and where it was morally 
certain that every industrious man or family would acquire 
independence sooner and better than in the crowded cities of 
the east. I never attempted to induce anyone to immigrate, 
but tried to reach those only who had already made up 
their minds to do so, and the only people that I ever induced 
to leave their mother country were a number of poor serv- 
ants and tenants among my own or my parents' acquaint- 
ances for whom I myself paid partly or wholly the cost of 
the journey. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Visit to Sweden in 1868-1869 — The Objectof my Journey — Experiences and 
Observations During the Same — Difference Between American and 
Swedish Customs — My Birth-place — Arrival and Visit There — Visit to 
Christianstad — Visit to Stockholm — The Swedish Parliament — My Re- 
turn to America — Reflections on and Impressions of the Condition of the 
Bureaucracy of Sweden. 



For many j^ears I had desired to revisit the liome of mj 
childhood, and in December, 1868, saying good-bye to fam- 
ily and friends, I set out alone on my first visit to Sweden, 
after an absence of nearly eighteen years. The chief object 
of the journey was recreation and pleasure; the second ob- 
ject to make the resources of Minnesota better known 
among the farming and laboring classes, who had made up 
their minds to emigrate. This visit to the fatherland 
marked an important era in my life. Being only eighteen 
\^ears old when I first left it, my impressions were vague and 
imperfect. Nor had I seen much of that beautiful country 
until my return in 1868. I shall now endeavor to relate 
some of those impressions and experiences as faithfully as 
memory permits, and should I have to record some things 
that will offend certain classes of my countrymen, I do it 
with no unfriendliness or lack of kindly feeling, but simply 
in the interest of truth ; for after having been a true and 
loyal American citizen for nearly forty years I still cling to 

103 



104 Story of an Emigrant. 

Sweden, its people and institutions, with the affection of a 
child toward its mother. 

When 1 left Sweden in 1851 there were no railroads. On 
my return the 23d day of December, 1868, via England, 
Germany and Copenhagen, I landed at Malmo just in time 
to walk to the railroad station and take the train to Chris- 
tianstad. The beautiful station with its surroundings, 
the uniformed and courteous officials in attendance, the 
well-dressed and comfortable-looking people in the first and 
second-class waiting room, all made a pleasant impression 
upon me, which soon was to be disturbed, however, by the 
following little incident: As I stepped up to the ticket win- 
dow to buy my ticket I observed a poor working woman at 
the third-class window with a silver coin in her hand and 
with tears in her eyes begging the clerk to give her the 
change and a ticket. I heard her pleading that she had left 
three little children alone at home, that this was the last 
train, and if she did not get home with it she would have to 
walk in the mud after dark. The clerk insultingly refused 
her, stating that he had no time to bother with her trifles 
unless she paid the even change; she asked several gentlemen 
near by to change her money for her, but they all turned away 
as if fearing contamination by coming in contact with one 
so poor and lowly.* I had only a few large bills, and as the 
woman was crowded away, the same clerk at the first-class 
window took one of my bills, and, with a most polite bow, 
gave me a handful of large and small change. Of course I 
got the woman her ticket also. This was possibly an excep- 
tional case, but to me it was a striking example of the 
difference between Swedish and American ways and cour- 
tesy. I venture to say that in no railway station or other 
public place in the whole United States, north or south, east 
or west, would a poor woman in her circumstances be left 

*The rules in Sweden give the ticket clerks the right to demand even change. 



Story of an emigrant. 105 

one minute without a friend and protector. Men of all 
; classes, — from the millionaire to the day-laborer, or even 
•street loafer, — would have vied with each other in trying to 
'ihe the first to render her assistance. 

1 I passed my old home at Onnestad station after dark, and 
' soon arrived in Christianstad, where four years of my youth 
-had been spent. It was my purpose this time only to pass 
" through the cit}' without looking up any old acqviaintances. 
- This was my thirty-sixth birthday, and, thinking of family 
and friends in my western home, I felt lonely, and repaired 
to my room at the hotel. I was not left alone very long, 
however, for the nev/s of my arrival had preceded me by a 
telegram from Copenhagen, and soon an old schoolmate 
called, and a few minutes later the editor of the leading 
newspaper, Karl Mollersvard, w^ho wa^ exactly of my own 
age and had been on a short visit to America, and with 
whom a warm and lasting friendship was soon formed. 
The stroll through the little city the following morning 
brought many tender recollections, and I should have enjoyed 
it more had I not been such an object of attention and curi- 
osity to everybody there. 

The advent of the railroad and the leveling of the old for- 
tifications had brought many improvements on the out- 
skirts, but the interior of the town with its little, narrow, but 
rectangular squares, streets and alleys, and its little one and 
tw^o-story houses had undergone no change. And yet I could 
hardly realize that it was the same, because those objects 
which, to my boyish fanc\% had seemed grand and imposing 
now appeared so diminutive that it was more like a dream 
than a living reality. This was particularly the case when, 
at noon, I watched the guard-mount of the artillery at the 
great square, and saw a large number of finely-uniformed 
officers, many of them grey with age and service, their 
breasts covered with decorations and crosses. With their 



106 Story of an Emigrant. 

sabres dragging and clashing against the pavement, and 
their spurs rattling, they walked up to the parade line from 
which they reviewed a couple of dozen soldiers with an air 
of solemn dignity, which might have done honor to a Grant, 
a Sherman, or a Sheridan, while reviewing our hundreds of 
thousands of veterans of a hundred battlefields. Truly, if 
the army of Sweden is defective in anything it is not in 
the dignity and style of the officers of the Yendes artillery ; 
but, joking aside, the splendid bearing and discipline of the 
regiment made a good impression. This regiment has in 
fact become noted as a training school for young men, who 
are afterwards employed in the railroad service, and in large 
establishments where ability, punctuality and practical 
knowledge are necessary. 

Christmas eve found me in Fjelkinge, at the old homestead 
where my father was born, and where his people had lived 
for generations. The place was now owned by a cousin of 
mine, an excellent and very prominent man in his locality. 
The telegram had not reached this quiet, and, to me, sacred, 
spot. The astonishment and surprise of my honored cousin 
and my two aged uncles, who were still living, can more easily 
imagined than described, and I was received with cordiality 
and joy. That night, spent under the roof of my forefathers, 
surrounded by the old people and the many dear recollec- 
tions, and by a new generation that had come into being 
since my last visit there, stands vividly in my memory as 
one of the most delightful of my life. 

Another cousin of mine, a younger brother of Hans Lar- 
son, of Fjelkinge, was rector at TroUe-Ljungby, not far from 
the old homestead. In his church there was to be an early 
service Christmas morning. We consequently left Fjelkinge 
very early, and arrived at Ljungby just as the candles were 
lighted and the service commenced. We entered and sat 
down in the sacristy just as my cousin had left it to enter the 



Story of an Emigrant. 107 

pulpit in the cliurcli. He did not know that we were there 
but we could see him, and hear his words during the solemn 
"Otte song." On his return with his family to the sacristy 
after the services, there was another surprise, and such joy 
as we then experienced does not often fall to the lot of mor- 
tal man. He told us that he had just had a dream about me 
that very night, and his mind was full of anxiety about my 
safety; but he had not expected to meet me so soon. Be- 
tween him and me there had been a bond of friendship and 
brotherhood, even from childhood, which was now renewed, 
never to be broken again. 

I had a third uncle, my father's 3'oungest brother, who 
lived in Vislof, three Swedish miles from Fjelkinge. The sec- 
ond day after my arrival he sent his son asking me to come 
to him immediately, as he had been waiting for me a long 
time, and I went to his house the same evening. This uncle 
had been stricken with parah'sis two or three years before, 
and been a bed-ridden invalid ever since, unable to use his 
limbs, and at times even to speak. His eldest son had gone 
to Minnesota the previous summer. The evening which I 
spent at his bedside was a remarkable one. As soon as I 
approached his bed he partly raised himself to sitting post- 
ure and began to speak, which he had not been able to do 
for a long time. His wife was sick abed in another room, 
but his youngest son and two daughters were at his bed- 
side with myself. He said he had been wanting to die for a long 
time, but when he had heard that I was to visit Sweden he 
wished to live until he could see me again. He asked me to 
tell all about my father, our family and friends, and his eld- 
est son. Then he asked me to take his family with me to 
America when he was dead. When he had no more ques- 
tions to ask or anything to communicate he sent his son for 
two of the neighbors, said good-b3^e to all of us with the ex-: 
clamation: "Thanks for all you have related and promised! 



108 Story of an Emigrant. 

Now I am ready to die I Farewell! God bless jon all!" 
after which he breathed his last. The following spring his 
famil}^ accompanied me to Minnesota. 

I decided to spend New Year's eve with one of my most in- 
timate boyhood friends, Mr. Nils Bengtson, in the little vi." 
lage of Skoglosa, where I was born. Some of the dearest 
friends of my parents and a number of my childhood ac- 
quaintances were present there, and on New Year's day we 
attended services together in the old church at Onnestad 
My presence was expected, and the church was crowded with 
people who had been friends and neighbors of my parents, or 
school and plaj^mates of myself. Even the pastor had chos- 
en a text applicable to me: "I think of the bj'gone days, 
and of the time that is past." The solemn services made a 
deep impression on all of us. A day or two later, in com- 
pany with some friends I visited the little cottage where I 
was born, and where a number of the neighbors had now 
gathered to see me. One of my earliest recollections from 
childhood was the spruce tree, v^hich, as I mentioned in the 
first chapter, was planted in the little garden by my parents. 
It was the only tree of its kind for a great distance around. 
It had grown to be a foot in diameter, was very beautiful, 
and was the pride not only of the present owner of the little 
farm, but of the whole neighborhood. After breaking off a 
sprig or two of the tree to carry back to my parents, we left 
the place early in the evening for Nils Bengtson's home, 
which was about half a mile distant, and where I was still 
a guest. 

Early the next morning my host awoke me with the news 
that the owner of the cottage had arrived before daylight, 
anxious to communicate a strange accident. Upon being 
admitted he stated that shortly after I left his house in the 
evening, a single gust of wind swept by in great force and 
broke the spruce tree off with a clean cut a few feet from the 



Story of an Emigrant, 109 

ground. It seemed very strange to us all, and lie regarded 
it as an ill-omen, sold the place shortly afterward, and went 
with me to America the following spring. 
- At that time only a few Swedish emigrants had returned 
from America, and to see a man who had been eighteen years 
in America, and had been a colonel in the American army 
must have been a great curiosity, especially to the country 
people; for wherever it was known that I would pass, peo- 
ple flocked from their houses to the roads and streets in 
order to catch a glimpse of the returned traveler. So great 
was their curiosity that on New Year's eve the servant girls 
of Nils Bengtson at Skoglosa, drew lots as to who should 
carry in our coffee, and thereby get a chance to take the first 
look at the American colonel. One of the ladies of the house 
told me afterwards that when the girl returned to the 
kitchen she put the tray down with great emphasis and dis- 
appointment, exclaiming indignantly: "Oh, pshaw! He 
looks just like any other man! " 

Now followed a season of visits and entertainments in 
Christianstad and the neighboring country, which I shall 
ever hold in grateful remembrance. I was received with cor- 
diality everywhere among the common people and the middle 
classes, while the aristocratic classes looked on with distant 
coldness, as they always do when a man of the people has suc- 
ceeded in getting beyond what they would call his legitimate 
station, and is what we would call, in other words, a self- 
made man. My plain name and humble ancestry were in 
their eyes a fault that never coiild be forgiven. This did not 
trouble me, however, for I sought no favors, or even recogni- 
tion from the great, but found plenty of delight in the cor- 
dial welcome of the middle classes. 

In the month of February I visited Stockholm, in company 
with my friend Nils Bengtson. It was the first time I had 
been there, and, like all other travelers, I was charmed with 



110 Story of an Emigrant. 

the beautiful city, and its gay and festive life. The parlia- 
ment (Riksdag) was in session, and as a liberal from America 
I was received with great cordiality by the liberal party. 
One grand dinner and two evening parties were given by 
some of its members in my honor, at which some of the most 
distinguished liberal members of parliament were present. 
Of course numerous toasts were proposed and speeches 
made, in one of which I was called upon for my views on the 
Swedish militia as corresponding largely to the lately dis- 
banded volunteer army of the United States. 

There was quite a famine in some of the Swedish provinces 
that winter, and when the government asked the parliament 
for an appropriation of several millions for carrying on field 
maneuvers of the army the coining season, the liberals made a 
strong opposition, preferring to use the money on some pub- 
lic improvement in the famished provinces. Of course I ex- 
pressed my sympathy strongly in favor of the volunteer or- 
ganizations and against the proposed maneuvers of the 
regulars. A few days afterward my words were quoted in 
the parliament, and gave rise to a spirited correspondence in 
one of the Stockholm conservative newspapers. 

Returning to Skane I found myself besieged by people who 
•wished to accompanj^ me back to America in the spring. Hav- 
ing visited my wife's relatives at Ballingslof, and enjoyed 
their hospitality, and made some trips to Wermland, Gothen- 
burg, Lund and Copenhagen, I spent the rest of my time 
w^ith friends in Christianstad, Ljungby and Onnestad. 

Having been for many years a Free Mason in America, 
and advanced to the highest degrees in that order, I was 
received in great state and full ceremony into the provincia' 
lodge at Christianstad, and on Good Fi-iday, if I remember 
right, I had the honor of marching in the Masonic procession 
between the two highest Masons of the province, the aged 
brothers, Barons Rolamb, wearing their gorgeous uniforms, 



Story of an Emigrant. Ill 

while I was dressed only in a plain black dress suit. The 
procession marched from the lodge to the chapel, only half a 
block distant on the same street, but a great crowd had 
gathered to see the mystic order, and I noticed many mani- 
festations of satisfaction among the masses at the honor 
bestowed upon me, while I have reason to believe that some 
of the uniformed brethren silently choked down a grudge 
over the plain citizen whom the strict rules of the order, for 
that day at least, had placed in a higher position than most 
of them could ever hope to attain. 

Time passed swiftly, and, as the crowds of intending emi- 
grants were increasing daily, it was found that it would be 
impossible for one steamer to carry them all, so I went early 
in April to Helsingborg, where one shipload was started for 
Minnesota under the leadership of Capt. Lindberg, a veteran 
from the Anglo-Russian and the American war. Afewv^eeks 
later I followed across the Atlantic with a party which num- 
bered eight hundred people, and in due time returned to my 
home in my adopted country. 

On the whole that first visit to Sweden was exceedingly 
pleasant, although there would occasionally come up disa- 
greeable incidents whenever America v^^as the subject of 
discussion. The laboring and middle classes already at that 
time had a pretty correct idea of America, and the fate that 
awaited emigrants there; but the ignorance, prejudice and 
hatred toward America and everything pertaining to it 
among the aristocracy, and especially the office holders, was 
as unpardonable as it was ridiculous. It was claimed by 
them that all was humbug in America, that it was the para- 
dise of scoundrels, cheats and rascals, and that nothing good 
could possibly come out of it. They looked upon emigrants 
almost as criminals, and to contradict them was a sure 
means of incurring their personal enmity and even insult. 

I remember a conversation at an evening party in Nasby 



112 SiOKV OF AN Emigrant. 

between a learned doctor and mj^self. He started with a 
proposition that it was wrong to leave one's native country, 
because God has placed us there, and, although the lot of the 
majority might be very hard, it was still their duty to 
remain to toil and pray, and even starve, if necessary, because 
we owed it to the country which had given us birth. In 
reply I referred to one of the first commandments of the 
Bible, that men should multiply, go out and fill up the earth ; 
that if it were wrong for Swedes to emigrate, it was equally 
wrong for the English, the Germans, the Spaniards and even 
our progenitors, the ancient Arians, and if so, what v^rould 
the result be? Portions of this bountiful earth would be 
overcrowded, privation, crime, bloodshed and misery would 
follow, while other continents would lie idle. If it had been 
wrong to emigrate, America, which to-day is the larder and 
granary of the world, would have remained in the possession 
of a few savages. My argument was of no avail ; the doc- 
tor, otherwise a kind and humane man, would rather see his 
poor countrymen subsist on bread made partly out of bark, 
which hundreds of them actually did at that very time in 
one of the Swedish provinces, than have them go to America, 
where millions upon millions of acres of fertile lands only 
awaited the labor of their strong arms to yield an abun- 
dance, not only for themselves, but also for the poor mil- 
lions of Europe. Hard as it for the individual to change 
habits of long standing, it is still harder for nations and 
races to free themselves from prejudices centuries old, espe- 
cially in a small country like Sweden, isolated from the great 
nations and thoroughfares of the w^orld. 

The importance of a military officer in Sweden dates from 
an age when the common soldier was simply an ignorant 
machine, and the difference between "a faithful servant of the 
king" and a common mortal was immense. The common mor- 
tal of to-day, however, is climbing bravely up towards the 



Story of an Emigrant. 113 

military demi-god. To command a company, or even a 
regiment, in modern warfare, especially in times of peace, 
requires but little tact and skill compared with former times, 
when such commander often had to act independently and 
at his own risk, whereas now there is scarcely any branch 
of business which does not require more talent for its proper 
management than the command of a company or a regiment. 
It is therefore not on account of superior merits, but on 
account of old fogy notions and prejudices that the bureau- 
cracy, military and civil, consider themselves to be of such 
immeasurable importance. My experience in life has taught 
me that individually men do not count for much in the 
world; that no man amounts to a great deal by himself; 
and that the highest as well as the lowest is dependent largely 
upon his fellows. 

What has been said about the military officers applies, in 
many cases, equally well to the civil officers, or rather, to a 
class of men holding life tenure offices in the civil serv- 
ice. Just now civil service reform is the question in 
American politics, and it means that officers in the civil 
service shall be appointed for life. I have always, for my 
part, doubted the wisdom of this reform, because I have seen 
so much evil growing out of that system in Sweden, England 
and India. To be sure, there would be much good springing 
from it, but it is very questionable whether the evil results 
would not be still greater. 

We Americans hold that all power of government ema- 
nates from the people (as it certainly does with us), and 
that the officers of the government, from the president down 
to the village constable, are merely the servants of the peo- 
ple, whose duty it is to enforce the laws and preserve good 
order. In the other countries named it is still, to a certain 
extent, supposed that God in his wisdom appoints the ruler, 
that all power lies in him, and that whatever privileges 



114. Story of an Emigrant. 

the people receive come as favors from the ruler. The influ- 
ence and effect of these two ideas are as different in all the 
ramifications of the system as the ideas themselves are irrec- 
oncilable. 

In America the humblest citizen goes to a local, state, or 
United States official with head erect and demands that such 
and such things be done, according to the law. In the other 
countries the lowly and even the average individual comes 
before the magistrate cringing and supplicating for his 
rights as for a favor. Of course such a false and absurd sys- 
tem, practiced for hundreds of years, can not fail to leave a 
strong impression both upon the seekers and the granters of 
such favors. 

To me, brought up, ever since my boyhood, under the 
American system, the importance of the civil officers in 
Sweden seemed to be greatly at variance with the progress 
made in the elevation of the people in general. I will only 
take one example: The provincial governor (Landshof- 
ding) and his immediate subordinates of a little province of 
the size of half a dozen of our counties, appears with much 
more pomp and style than any of the governors of our great 
states ; and I have no doubt that such a governor considers 
his office to be more important than that of the governors 
of some of our states, each of which has a population larger 
than that of the smaller kingdoms of Europe. 



CHAPTER X. 

The Importance of the Scandinavian Element— A Swe3e Elected Secretary 
of State in Minnesota — False Rumors of Indian Depredations — The 
Northern Pacific Railroad is Built— Trip to Philadelphia— The National 
Convention at Indianapolis — Delegation to Was'iington — A Swedish 
Colony in Mississippi Moved to Minnesota — The Second Voyage to 
Europe. 



Politically the Scandinavians in America had exerted no 
particular influence beyond that they had generally been 
counted upon as loyal to the Republican party, and a few of 
them had held county offices and been members of the state 
legislatures in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The honor of first 
bringing out a Scandinavian for a state office belongs to F. 
S. Christensen, a young Dane, who, in the summer of 1869, 
was editor of Nordisk Folkeblad in Rochester, Minn. 
One day he called on me and asked if I wotlld be candidate 
for secretary of state, providing the Scandinavians of Minne- 
sota should nominate me, to which I readily assented. A 
few weeks later a Scandinavian convention w^as held in 
Minneapolis and resulted in designating me as their choice 
for secretary of state. At the Republican state convention 
held in St. Paul in September that year, I was nominated 
almost unanimously by the whole Republican party. Being 
called to the platform after the nomination, I accepted the 
same in a brief speech, which at the time attracted much at- 
tention as echoing the sentiments of our people in the West. 

115 



116 Story of an Emigrant. 

I therefore regard it of sufficient importance to quote it 
here: 

"Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention : 

" Allow me to tender you my hearty thanks for the honor you have con- 
ferred upon me by this nomination. I feel doublj' gratified for the very large 
majority you gave me. The time does not admit of any extensive re- 
marks upon my part, yet so much has been said lately regarding the Scan- 
dinavian element, that the subject, perhaps, requires an explanation from 
me; and, as the chosen representative of the Scandinavian people of this 
state in the present campaign, I am authorized to express their views, and 
I do so from a thorough knowledge of them. It is true that we have left 
our beloved land ; we have strewn the last flowers upon the graves of our 
forefathers, and have come here to stay, come here to live, and come hereto die. 
We are not a clannish people, nor do we desire to build up a Scandinavian 
nationality in your midst. You have know^n us here for many years ; you 
have seen us come among you unacquainted with your language and your 
customs, and yet 1 know that you will bear me witness how readily and 
fraternally we have mingled w^ith you. learned your language and adopted 
your ways, and how^ naturally our children grow up as Americans, side by 
side w^ith yours. We have been cordially received in this great west by your 
own pioneers, and have become prosperous and happy. Yes, we love this 
great country of freedom, and we w^ish to be and remain Americans." 

Being elected a few weeks later by a large majority, I 
assumed the duties of secretary of state on the 1st of Janu- 
ary, 1 870, As secretary of state I was still a member ex- 
officio of the board of emigration, and had charge of all its 
work and correspondence, which amounted often to a 
hundred letters a day. 

In the month of June following, rumor came to the capitol 
of a new Indian outbreak on our western frontier. It w^as 
said that Indians had come in the night and committed 
depredations, and quite an alarm was caused all along the 
frontier; the bloody massacre of 1862 was still fresh in the 
memories of our people, and while the state authorities did 
not believe this rumor, we deemed it necessary to take meas- 
ures at once for pacifying the people by protecting the 
frontier. Therefore I started out at once with several hun- 
dred stand of arms, with ammunition and authority to 



Story of an Emigrant. 117 

oiganize the settlers into militia companies and commission 
officers for the same. Selecting a few friends for company 
and aids, we went by rail as far as Benson, Swift county, 
thence by ox teams northward, following the frontier settle- 
ments to the northern portion of Otter Tail county. Four 
companies of militia were organized and officers duly ap- 
pointed, the last being in Otter Tail county, with a Swedish 
count, Ragnar Railing, as captain. This prompt action 
stopped the panic, and all has been quiet since that time. 
The rumor of the Indian depredation proved to have origi- 
nated with some settlers who, in the disguise of Indians, had 
tried to scare away a Norwegian from a claim which he had 
taken from another man. 

During this year one of the greatest railroad enterprises in 
the world was commenced, namely, the building of the 
Northern Pacific, extending from Lake Superior to the 
Pacific coast, a distance of over two thousand miles. The 
celebrated financier Jay Cooke, of Philadelphia, who had 
acquired a great reputation as the financial agent of Presi- 
dent Lincoln's administration during the war, was at the 
head of the enterprise. The Northern Pacific Company had 
received a government grant of many millions of acres of 
land along the proposed railroad, and it required millions 
upon millions of dollars to build the road. One of the 
important financial questions with Jay Cooke was how to 
derive a revenue from the sale of lands, and how to get 
settlers and communities started along the line of the road. 
So ignorant were the people of this country about the region 
lying within the limits of the Northern Pacific railroad that 
it was generally supposed to be either barren or too far 
north for successful agriculture; j^et that very region has 
since proved to be the greatest wheat producing country in 
the world. Mr. Cooke himself had been all over it with a 
small party, under the escort of United States cavalry, on 



118 Story of an Emigrant. 

an exploring tour, and he was perhaps the only man of that 
day who foresaw the future greatness of the Northern Pacific 
region. 

Late in the fall of 1870 I received a letter from Mr. Cooke, 
in Philadelphia, inviting me to come and spend a w^eek with 
him and talk over the new Northwest. Upon the advice 
of ex-Gov. Marshall, who had spoken of me to Mr. Cooke, 
the then Gov. Austin and other prominent men, I repaired to 
Philadelphia, and spent some days at Mr. Cooke's palatial 
residence near that city. He had also for guests a delegation 
of French and German bankers, who had just arrived from 
Europe. Mr. Cooke impressed me as one of the greatest 
and noblest men I had ever met. His enthusiasm and elo- 
quent arguments carried everything before him. The millions 
were raised, largely in Europe, and the road was built, as 
we all know. The result of my conference with him was my 
permanent engagement, at a salary more than twice as 
large as that I had from the state, to repair to Europe in 
the spring as agent of his enterprise, with headquarters in 
Sweden, my special duties being to make known in the 
northern countries of continental Europe the resources of 
the Northern Pacific, particularly the park region in Minne- 
sota. I was also requested by Mr. Cooke to draw up a 
general plan on my return home for the disposal of the 
company's lands, which I did, and that plan was adopted 
for the guidance of its land and emigration officers and 
agents. 

In the month of December a national convention was held 
in the city of Indianapolis, Ind., for the purpose of devising 
measures for the better protection of emigrants on ocean 
steam?rs, and while in transit through this country. All the 
states interested in emigration sent delegates to that con- 
vention, and I w^as one of those representing our state; my 
knowledge and experience of the subject at issue enabled me 



Story of an Em- grant. 119 

t3 take such a part in the proceedings that at the close of 
the convention, I was appointed one of a committee of five 
(Gov. McCook, of Colorado, State Treasurer Smith, of Wis- 
consin, Banker Greenbaum, of Illinois, and a leading news- 
paper man of Philadelphia, were the other members) to draft 
a law for the protection of emigrants, and to proceed to 
Washington and lay the same before the president and con- 
gress. There I had an opportunity for the second time to 
meet Gen. Grant, who w^as then president. I spent much 
time with him, and he took a lively interest in the emigra- 
tion question. The result of our work was the passage by 
the United States congress of the excellent laws in relation 
to emigration which still remain in force. 

In January, 1871, the state legislature of Minnesota again 
assembled. The senate then consisted of twenty-two mem- 
bers, and w^as opened and organized by Lieut. Gov. Yale, 
and the house of representatives, with forty-seven members, 
by myself as secretary of state. 

During that winter I received several touching letters from 
Swedes located in the state of Mississippi. They were part 
of a little colony which had gone there the previous year, 
direct from Sweden. The climate was unsuitable ; one-fifth 
of the people had already died, nearly all the rest were sick, 
and there was great distress and misery among them. They 
asked me to get them away into the healthy climate of Min- 
nesota. They were entirely destitute of means, and had to 
be placed where the men could obtain employment when 
they should have regained sufficient health and strength. 

The Duluth & St. Paul Railroad Company, which was 
then a part of Jay Cooke's system, upon my request, furnished 
the necessary means, and sent Mr. F. S. Christensen, hereto- 
fore mentioned, to Mississippi to bring the party to St. 
Paul, which he did under many difficulties, in such satisfac- 
tory manner that upon his return he received an appoint- 



120 Story of an Emigrant. 

ment by the company as local land agent at Rush City, in 
which position he remained many years. He is now presi- 
dent of the bank at that place, being married as before 
stated, to m^' niece, the little Zelma, whom the Indian 
squaws were so fond of plajnng with in the old log cabin. 
The little colony from Mississippi has certainly demonstrated 
that the northern climate is b}^ far the best for the northern 
people. They had left Sweden strong, robust and hopeful 
men and women ; after having stayed one 3'ear in the South 
they arrived in Alinnesota pale, poor and broken down, 
lacking strength and energy, and almost without hope. 

The railroad company acted most generously towards 
them. It built them comfortable houses, furnished an 
abundance of provisions, cooking utensils and other neces- 
saries; they gave the men emploj^ment at liberal wages as 
soon as they were able to work, and yet many of those very 
people growled and complained because we did not do more 
for them. I remember distinctly how one of the women, 
when her share of groceries and provisions arrived, w^as per- 
fectly indignant because there was only granulated sugar, 
and she had always been "used to drink coffee with lump 
sugar in Sweden." This bad trait among newly arrived em- 
igrants from an}'- country is very common, gratitude and 
contentment being exceptional the first year or two, as all 
will testify who have had anything to do with them. It 
really seems that the more that is done for them the less sat- 
isfied the}'- are. I am glad to say, however, that after a few- 
years they get over this bad fault, and so did the little party 
from Alississippi, most of whom have all of late years re- 
pented and even apologized for their former folly and ingrat- 
itude. The}' formed the nucleus of the large Swedish settle- 
ment west of Rush City, now one of the most prosperous in 
the state. 

After the close of the legislature in the spring of 1871 



Story of an Emigrant. 121 

preparations were made for carrying out my agreement with 
Jay Cooke to go to Europe for an indefinite time. Having 
been criticised by some of my countrymen, for resigning the 
office of secretary of state at that time, I owe them the 
following explanation: First: Personal!}^, I was compara- 
tively poor, and the salary which I received from the go\" 
ernment, with the great draw-backs for all sorts of charities 
and public enterprises, which an official in that position has 
to meet, was insufficient to support me and my family, and 
I considered that I had the same rights as an}^ other citizen 
to better my pecuniary condition, which I did by accept ng 
the offer of Jay Cooke. Secondly: It was of greater impor- 
tance to the public, and I could render better service to the 
state at this period of its early development, as agent for a 
great railroad company, which fact was fully recognized by 
our leading public men, and it was with their advice and at 
their earnest request that I took the step. I accordingly 
tendered my resignation to the governor of our state, but 
he, out of polite consideration, preferred that I should take 
a leave of absence until fall, when the people would have an 
opportunity at the political convention, to designate my 
successor, and wrote me the following letter: 

" State of Minnesota, 
"Executive Department. 
" St. Paul, May 25, 1871. 

" Col. H. Mattson, Secretary of State: 

"Dear Sir: Learnin<:^ that it is your intention, on takinj^ your departure 
for Europe, to resign your office of secretar^'^ of state, allow me to ask you 
to reconsider that resolution. You will leave a very competent deputy, 
perfectly acquainted with all the duties of the office, and in whose integ- 
rity, as well as in his honesty, the public have unlimited confidence. Within 
a few montas your successor will be indicated by the delegates chosen by 
the people, uomprising the dominant party of the state, and then he may 
be appointed, if you are to resign at all, with no tmcertainty as to the 
popular choice of the individual who should fill that important post. For 
tlcse reasons I hope you will conclude to withhold your resignation, at 



122 Story of an Emigrant. 

least for the present. I most cordially wish you a pleasant journey to the 
field of your new labors, great success there, and a safe return to the land 
yoxi have served and loved so well. 

" Very truly yours, 

"Horace Atjstin, Governor." 

It is true tliat even after the state convention the governor 
did not appoint my successor, but preferred to leave the 
office nominally in my hands in charge of my very able 
assistant, the Hon. Pennock Pusey, until the end of the 
term, so that in fact I did not resign, but kept my office dur- 
ing the whole term for which I had been elected. 

In the last week of May I left for Sweden the second time, 
taking my family with me. The journey passed very pleas- 
antly over England, Germany and Denmark. We arrived in 
Hamburg in the morning of the day when the Hamburgian 
troops returned under Prince Carl from the Franco-Prussian 
war, and made a triumphant entry into the city, being re- 
ceived with the greatest enthusiasm by the whole populace. 
It w-as indeed a grand sight, as £ll these troops marched by 
our hotel, men and horses literally covered with wreaths, 
flowers and bouquets, thrown over them by the grateful 
people. On this journey I carried important business letters 
from leading railroad men in Minnesota to some capitalists 
in Holland, who had advanced several million dollars for the 
construction of railroads in our state. I mention this, 
because it paved my \vay to very important business connec- 
tions with prominent Hollanders a few years afterward. 

Shortly before entering upon this journey, a private bank- 
ing and foreign exchange business was established in St. 
Paul under the firm name of H . Mattson & Co. My partners 
were Consul H. Sahlgaard and A. T. Lindholm, who success- 
fully managed the business during my absence. A few years 
later this affair was merged into the St. Paul Savings Bank, 
of which Mr. Sahlgaard became the cashier, while Mr. Lind- 
holm and myself both withdrew. The banking firm H. Matt- 



Story of an Emigrant. 123 

son & Co. was one of the first firms that, as agent for the 
Cunard Line, introduced the system of prepaid steamship 
tickets from Europe to America, which has gradually gained 
the confidence of the people, and developed into a very 
extensive and important business. 



CHAPTER XI. 

In Sweden Again — Reception at My Old Home — Visit to Northern Sweden- 
Field Maneuvers in Sweden — The Opening of Parliament — In Norway — 
Visit in Stockholm — Ro3^al Palaces — The Gota Canal — A Trip to Fin- 
land and Russia — King Oscar II. — A Trip to Dalarne in the Winter. 



On June 21, 1871, I landed a second time in my native 
country at Malmo. As already stated, I was this time 
accompanied by my wife and children, and intended to remain 
in Europe several j^ears, which we also did. 

At Hessleholm we were met by relatives and friends w^ho 
conducted us to the old city of Christianstad, where we were 
to make our home. The early part of the beautiful northern 
summer we spent in visiting friends aiid kinsmen. Entertain- 
ments, excursions and festivities of all kinds alternated con- 
tinually. The kindness and hospitality of the people knew 
no bounds, and no matter how^ defective some of the old 
institutions of Sweden may be they are in my opinion more 
than counterbalanced by the many beautiful and noble traits 
of character of the people, which we observed everywhere, 
and which are faithfully stored up in our hearts and minds, 
so that we always find a great delight in looking back to 
those days. 

Having spent a large portion of the summer in this man- 
ner, I started in the month of August on a tour to the north- 
ern part of the countr}--, visiting Stockholm, Upsala, Gefle, 
Hudiksvall, and several other places. This was my first op- 

124 



Story of an Emigrant. 125 

portunit}' to see the beautiful scenery of nortliern Sweden, 
the line, quiet bays, the magnificent lakes, the pleasant valleys, 
the green hills, the mountains dark with pine forests, all of 
which contribute to make the scenery of Norrland so varied 
and attractive. 

In the fall I returned to southern Sweden, and had an op- 
portunity to witness the field maneuvers of the largest por- 
tion of the Swedish army, and also to meet the popular king 
Charles XV. The maneuvers were very fine, but, in my opin- 
ion, the troops could not have endured a long campaign, 
with its exhaustive marches and hardships. The soldiers 
complained loudly of fatigue, and quite a number of them 
were taken sick after the march of only fourteen to eighteen 
miles, although the weather was fine, cool, and bracing. 
Compared with our American army during the late war, when 
marches of twice that distance were quite frequent, the 
Swedish armj^ was inferior ; but these weak points would 
probably soon be remedied by practice in actual warfare. 

After having seen King Charles I was no longer astonished 
at his great popularity among the people. There was some- 
thing about him which seemed to electrify and charm every- 
one who came within the circle of his personal influence. I 
saw him again the following winter at the opening of par- 
liament in Stockholm. With all due respect for old Swedish 
customs and manners, I cannot but compare this pageant to 
a great American circus — minus the menagerie, of course. 
I would like to describe this serio-comical demonstration 
for the benefit of my American readers ; but I am sorry to 
say that I can no longer remember the titles of the different 
officers, heralds, guards, lackeys, pages, etc.,— all of them 
dressed in the most gorgeous costumes, some of them preced- 
ing, others following the king and the royal princes, who 
were adorned with all the mediaeval clap-trap insignia of 
royalty, and wrapped in huge mantles of gay colors, and 



126 Story of an Emigrant. 

with long trains borne by courtiers or pages. We can com- 
prehend the importance of a display of this kind a couple of 
centuries ago, but it seems to me that the common sense of 
our times demands its abolishment, and unless I am very 
much mistaken King Charles himself, who was a practical 
and sensible man, was of the same opinion. 

The same winter I made a visit to Norway, which w^as 
repeated the following summer. The social and political 
conditions of the country reminded me somewhat of America, 
Norway being ahead of Sweden in that respect, and I am 
not surprised that the Norwegians are proud of their beauti- 
ful country. 

One of my most pleasant journeys in Europe was a trip 
which I took in company \vith wife and children in the early 
part of the summer of 1872, On this trip w^e w^ent through 
the lovely province of Sodermanland, and thence by rail to 
Stockholm, where we met many old friends and acquain- 
tances. Midsummerday w^as celebrated in the circle of a 
number of happy friends at Hasselbakken, and on the follow- 
ing days we made repeated visits to the enchanting surround- 
ings of the capital. On one of these outings to Drot- 
ningholm, a summer palace, w^e met other American 
tourists, and I remember distincth'' how we all agreed that 
this was just the locality for sorne charitable institution, 
where the unfortunate poor and suffering members of societ\' 
could be taken care of, as, for instance, a home for old 
w^idow^s, or orphans, or old men who have served their 
country faithfully in peace or w^ar, but have been reduced to 
poverty in their old age. As a contrast to Drotningholm we 
pictured in our minds the Soldiers' Home near Washington, 
vvrhere Abraham Lincoln had a few rooms, and found rest 
and recreation among trees and flowers, and it seemed to us 
that some of the country palaces of Sweden might just as 
well be used for a similar purpose. 



Story of an Emigrant, 127. 

Having remained in Stockholm for some time, we directed 
our course southward, by way of the Gota canal, past 
Motala, Trollhattan, and Gothenburg. How great, how 
delightful, how glorious ! Dull and coarse must that tnan or 
woman be who can make this trip without being proud of 
the sons of Sweden and their peaceful avocations. In school 
I had read the history of Sweden, but it treated chiefly of 
warfare and of the exploits of the kings, only incident- 
ally touching the achievements of peaceful work and the 
development of social and moral culture, which, in my 
opinion, are of supreme importance, and deserve the great- 
est honor. But then, it must be remembered that Swedish 
history was at that time written with the assumption that 
royalty and a few warriors are the sun and the stars around 
which the whole people and the country revolve, and from 
which they received their light and value. A better time has 
now dawned on Sweden, and even common people are 
acknowledged to have a certain inherent worth. Still I am 
afraid it will take some time before old prejudices can be dis- 
pelled. 

In the fall of the same year I took a trip through Finland 
and Russia, having secured a passport issued by Gen. C. C. 
Andrews, who was then United States minister in Stock- 
holm. I went with the steamer Aura from Stockholm to 
4bo, Helsingfors, and Cronstadt. The pine-clad islands and 
shores of the Baj^ of Finland afforded a beautiful panorama 
from the steamer. The sight of Sveaborg made me feel that 
I was still a Swede in soul and heart, for I was overpowered 
by a deep sadness when I thought of the heinous treason by 
which this impregnable fortress was forced to surrender. 

I spent several days in St. Petersburg, during which I took 
inthechief sights of this grand city, such as St. Isaacs' church, 
the monument to Peter the Great, the winter palaces, etc. 
It happened to be the anniversary of the coronation of the 



128 Story of an Emigrant. 

Czar, and t had the pleasure of seeing the magnificent mili- 
tary parade arrayed for the occasion. My American pass- 
port opened all doors to me wherever I tried to enter, and I 
was treated with the greatest politeness b}^ military as well 
as civil authorities. To an uninitiated eye my personal lib- 
ertv and independence seemed just as great here as in Wash- 
ington ; but that was not the case, for I knew that my every 
step was being closel}'^ watched. 

One da}' my guide conducted me to a place in one of the 
suburbs, where some hundred prisoners were vStarting on 
their long journey to Siberia. He also conducted me to the 
Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, where the Russian Czars 
are crowned and buried; and through the fortress and 
prison, in whose moist, murky dungeons the political pris- 
oners hear the great bell in the steeple striking the hour, and 
the watchman crying his monotonous, "God save the Czar." 
while from vear to year the victims of despotism suffer and 
languish, often on a mere suspicion, and without a fairtrial, 
until death finally puts an end to their sufferings. What is 
the reason that politically Russia has always been on the 
most friendly terms with the United States ? How can liberty 
and the rankest t3'ranny have anything to do with each 
other? This has always been a riddle to me. I despise the 
friendship of a despotism like that of Russia, where the gov- 
ernment orders innocent men and women to be seized in the 
silence of the night, torn away from their homes and fami- 
lies, incarcerated in dungeons, and subjected to bodily tor- 
ture and social disgrace simply because they are suspected of 
having expressed or cherished liberal ideas. 

Returning to Sweden by way of Finland I remained a few 
days at Hclsingfors. Having presented my passport to the 
authorities of the city, the commander of the garrison sent 
an ofiicer inviting me to visit the barracks and other places 
of interest, i accepted the invitation and spent two days 



Story of an Emigrant. 129 

under the guidance of my cicerone. This was of course a 
rare treat, and it brought me in contact with many promi- 
nent citizens and officers. We also took a ride out in the 
country to see the condition of the peasants. In common 
with all other Swedes I have always sympathized with un- 
fortunate Finland, in the belief that its people must be very 
unhappy and yearn for a reunion with Sweden. This proved 
to be a great misconception. What a peculiar contradic- 
tion ! The Russian despots treat the Fins with generosity 
and justice, and as far as I could understand, the people were 
highly pleased with Russian supremacy, and would not be- 
come subjects of Sweden again, even if they could.* 

The following winter I had the honor of meeting King 
Oscar, of Sweden, at the funeral solemnities arranged by the 
grand lodge of Free Masons on the occasion of the death of 
King Charles XV. I have attended quite a number of official 
gatherings of different kinds in different countries, and seen 
persons vested with the highest authority conducting the 
same, but as to true dignity and lofty majesty. King Oscar 
excelled them all. When I compare him with the czar of all 
the Russias, or compan the condition of the Sw^edes with 
that of their Russian neighbors, I thank God for my old 
native land and its noble king. 

Of my numerous trips in Sweden I must mention one in 
particular, — a journey by sleigh, — in company with my old 
friend Karl MoUersvard, from Upsala to Gefle, and from 
Falun south, through Dalarne, past Smedjebacken, and the 
lakes below this to Yesteras. The beauty of the country of a 
northern clime does not show itself in its entire splendor 
until dressed in the garb of winter. The branches of the 
mighty pines loaded down by the dazzling snow; millions of 
snow crystals, more beautiful than diamonds, glittering from 

'Since the above was written the Russian government has shown a dispo- 
sition to treat Finland in a way that will soon change the friendly feelings of the 
Finnish people. 



130 Story of an Emigrant. 

every twig as the sun sends its first morningr rajs through 
the forests; the picturesque costumes of the peasantry; the 
comfortable inns with their fine dishes of northern game; 
the neat sleighs drawn by small, swift, sure-footed horses ; 
here and there a smelting furnace or a country church. — all 
these things combined left en my mind a picture of rural 
life more quiet, happy and bcautilul than I had ever seen 
before. 



E^-IE^ 



CHAPTER XII. 

Visit in Minnesota and Philadelphia — Conversation with Jay Coolce — The 
Crisis of 1873 — Negotiations in Holland — Draining of a Lake inSkane — 
Icelandic Colony in Manitoba — Return to America. 



In tlie spring of 1873 I returned to Minnesota in company 
with a large number of immigrants. Being anxious to have 
my children learn the Swedish language, I left my family in 
Sweden where the children attended school. They spent this 
summer at Ronneby watering place, where the surroundings 
are characteristic of the mild and pleasant scenery of south- 
ern Sw^eden. 

In travelino^ from the Atlantic to Minnesota we came by 
way of the Great Lakes and the Sault St. Marie canal. 
Having spent a couple of months in Minnesota I returned 
to Europe again via Philadelphia, New York and Quebec. 
The reader may remember that the Northern Pacific railroad 
was building at that time, and that Jay Cooke, by means 
of his enthusiasm and great popularity, had succeeded in rais- 
ing large sums of money for this stupendous enterprise. The 
Union Pacific railroad, south of us, w^as already in opera- 
tion, and its owners, fearing the competition of the new 
road, had resorted to all conceivable schemes to undermine 
the confidence of the public in the Northern Pacific road and 
its promoters. Many of those who had furnished money 
began to feel uneasy, but Jay Cooke went ahead, full of hope 
and confidence in its final success. Just as I called at his pri- 

331 



'132 Story of an Emigrant. 

vate office in Philadslpliia in August, one of his bookkeepers 
handed him a card from a prominent moneyed man in Phila- 
delphia who wished to see him, and the following conversa- 
tion took place between the two : 

** What can I do for you, my friend ? " Jay Cooke said. 

"We begin," said the capitalist, "to loseconfidence in your 
railroad schemes. I have bought $20,000 worth of bonds, 
but I am getting a little afraid, and came to ask your 
advice." 

"My dear sir, the Northern Pacific Railroad bonds are just 
as safe as United States bonds," 

"If this is your conviction, will you please exchange them 
for my bonds?" 

"Certainly. Here; give this" — ^he handed him a slip of pa- 
per with a few lines on it — "to my cashier, and he will give 
you United States bonds in exchange." 

The gentleman withdrew perfectly satisfied, and Jay 
Cooke turned to me with the following explanation: "I 
have seen the Northern Pacific country; that's the reason I 
am so confident in the success of this railroad enterprise. If 
we only succeed in accomplishing the work, I shall certainly 
prove that I was right ; but if we fail, our antagonists will 
get a grist to their mill. But, whatever the result may be, 
no one shall have a right to say that I did not stake my fort- 
une on my conviction." 

The same day I left Philadelphia for Europe, but I had 
scarcely reached Sweden when the great crisis came. Jay 
Cooke, whose fortune was estimated at twenty million dol- 
lars, \vas a ruined man. The work on the Northern Pacific 
railroad was suddenlv stopped, and the obligations of the 
compan}' depreciated to almost nothing. We all remember 
the terrible crisis that followed. Thousands of people were 
ruined, and the whole country suffered one of the most dis- 
astrous financial crises of modern times. My own loss was 



Story of an Emigrant. 133 

a very hard blow to me, not merely because I lost my posi- 
tion, but because my property in Minnesota, whicb consisted 
exclusively of real estate, stock and farm products, lost its 
val ue. This catastrophe was chiefly due to business jealousy, 
and there was no real cause for the panic, which was also 
clearly proven afterward. The Northern Pacific railroad 
has now been completed, and has proven to possess all the 
merits which Jay Cooke claimed for it. Its obligations are 
again above par. Jay Cooke has paid every dollar of his 
debt, with interest, and again lives in affluence and luxury, 
respected and honored by the whole country. 

Returning to Sweden I passed through Holland, which 
country I had visited a couple of times before, as already 
mentioned. I carried important business letters from the 
leading men of the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Company, 
now known as the Great Northern Railroad Company. Dutch 
capitalists had advanced the money — about twenty million 
dollars — for building this road. The company had received, 
very extensive land grants from the United States govern- 
ment; but during the first few years after the construction 
of the road to Breckenridge the country through which it 
passed was so sparsely settled that the traffic of the road 
was insufficient topayits running expenses, hence their stocks 
and obligations depreciated very much in value. But the 
American railroad officials with whom I had been connected 
in the capacity of land agent were firmly convinced that if 
this road could be extended about thirty miles to the 
Northern Pacific railroad, and a little more time allowed lor 
the settlement of the country along the line, the enterprise 
would pay a handsome dividend. It was my task to explain 
this to the Dutch capitalists, and persuade them to advance 
another $150,000 — a mere trifle compared with what they 
had invested already — to build said extension, which was to 
pass through a perfectly level country. The president of the 



134 Story of an Emigrant. 

company, George L. Becker, and its land commissioner, 
Herman E. Trott, had previously visited Holland on the 
same business. But all our representations were in vain. 
The Dutch were stubborn, and would not give out another 
dollar. "It is of no use," they said, "to throw away a 
small sum of good money after a large sum of bad money, 
for it is all lost, anyway." The crisis of 1873 aggravated 
the situation still more, for this company, and its bonds 
were continually depreciating. The St. Paul & Pacific rail- 
road had pledged itself to accept its own bonds at par in 
payment for its land, and as I and others had sold hundreds 
of thousands of acres of this land to new settlers on credit, 
I tried, and also succeeded, in perfecting an arrangement 
with the Hollanders, by which the new settlers who had 
purchased land on credit, were allowed to buy on time the 
bonds of the company, at about twenty-five per cent, of 
their face value, and apply the same, without discount, on 
their debts for the land, a method of liquidation that was 
highly advantageous to the settlers. As soon as this was 
found out in Minnesota, bankers and other capitalists sent 
agents to Holland to make similar arrangements, and, in 
the course of the next three years, a brisk business was done 
in exchanging those bonds for land, by which thousands of 
settlers saved large sums of money, and a number of bankers 
and agents made small fortunes. If I had returned to Minne- 
sota immediately I could have realized a very handsome profit 
by this arrangement; but I had made agreements which com- 
pelled me to stay in Sweden some length of time, and I left 
this business in the hands of my former partner, Consul 
Sahlgaard, and the St. Paul Savings Bank. But they did 
not grasp the importance of this matter until it was too 
late, and the lion's share of the profits went to new parties 
who thus reaped the benefit of my plans, as is often the case 
under such circumstances. 



Story of an Emigrant. • 135 

As in the case of the Northern Pacific Railroad, the subse- 
quent success of the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad proved that 
Messrs. Becker, Trott, and myself were right, and if the 
Dutch bondholders had followed our advice they would not 
only have saved their twenty million dollars, but also made 
as much more. The bonds continued to depreciate to almost 
nothing until the company was declared insolvent, a re- 
ceiver appointed, and very expensive legal measures were 
resorted to, until finally the Dutch became disgusted with 
the whole matter and transferred all their interests to 
an American syndicate headed by J. J. Hill, of St. Paul, at 
present the well-known Minnesota railroad king. The sum 
paid was a mere trifle. Hill's syndicate procured money for 
building the connecting link and completing the system. 
The syndicate made twenty million dollars by this transac- 
tion, and, within five years after the Dutch had sold their 
bonds for a mere bagatelle and the company had changed 
its name to the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba, practi- 
cally the same bonds were sold on the exchange in Amster- 
dam for one hundred and fifty cents on the dollar. 

The only profit 1 derived from my connection with this bus- 
iness was that I gained the respect and confidence of the 
Dutch capitalists, who very soon understood that thev 
would have been all right if they had followed my advice. 
Therefore, when another Dutch company, known as the 
Minnesota Land Company, shortly afterward was brought 
to the verge of ruin by mismanagement, the affairs of this 
company were intrusted to my hands, and when the Max- 
well Land Grant Company of New Mexico, which also con- 
sisted of Dutch capitalists, got into similar trouble they ap- 
pointed me American manager of the affairs of that com- 
pany, to which I shall refer further on. 

Soon after my return to Sweden in the fall of 1873 I 
became interested in an important business enterprise near 



136 Story of an Emigrant. 

my old home. A few years before this a number of English- 
men had organized a stock company for the purpose of 
draining a big swamp, and a lake called Hammarsjo, in the 
vicinity of Christianstad. After expending a large sum of 
money the company failed to accomplish the undertaking. 
An officer in the Danish army, Captain M.Rovsing, who had 
had experience in that kind of work, in company with my- 
self bought all the privileges and rights as well as the plant 
and material of the English company, and the work was 
completed under the supervision of Captain Rovsing in the 
latter part of 1875. This Captain Rovsing was not only a 
firstclass engineer, but also an able and good man in other 
respects. I cannot tell whether it is luck or something else, 
but it is certain that I have alwa^'s had the good fortune to 
enter into close business connections, and to form ties of inti- 
mate friendship, with persons distinguished by the highest 
sense of honor and integrity, and of those acquaintances 
Captain Rovsing occupies one of the foremost places. 

During a part of this time I also contributed some time 
and work toward colonizing the province of Manitoba, 
and thereby gave an impetus to the establishment of the 
first Icelandic colony in the Northwest. 

In the spring of 1874< we moved to Gothenburg, where we 
stayed until the work at Hammersjo was completed, and in 
January, 1876, we said good-bye to Sweden, and arrived 
in America after a stormy voyage of nineteen da\^s across 
the Atlantic. For sixteen days the storm was so violent 
that the life-boats and everything which was loose on the 
deck was swept away by the waves, and the officers serving 
during the night had to lash themselves to the rigging by 
ropes, not daring to rely on their hands and feet. 

It is strange how easily people in the course of time get 
used even to the most unpleasant circumstances. This was 
illustrated in a striking manner by the few cabin passengers 



Story of an Emigrant. 137 

who sat packed together in the cabin during this storm. 
After a couple of weeks we got so used to it that we finally 
found our voyage quite endurable. Still we were very glad 
when the beautiful steamer Circassian of the Allan Line 
brought us safely to shore in Portland, Me. A few days 
more on rail, and we were again safe and sound in our dear 
Minnesota. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Grasshopper Ravages in Minnesota— The Pi-esidential 'Election— Choset 
Presidential Elector — Minnesota Stats Tiduin^—Svenska Trihunen in 
Chicago — Farm in Northwestern Minnesota — Journalistic Work. 



"The world do move" nowadays, and most emphatically 
so in the great American Northwest. An absence of four 
years is almost enough to bury one out of sight, at least 
that is what I found on returning to Minnesota. The crisis 
of 1873 had left my finances in anything but a flourishing 
condition, to which was added the ravages of the grasshop- 
pers, which caused considerable losses to me on my farm at 
Litchfield, that being about the only property I then owned. 

My attention was soon drawn from these private reverses 
to public affairs. The first steps tovvard re-entering the 
field of politics was my nomination for presidential elector 
by the Republican state convention, held at St. Paul in the 
summer of 1876. At the request of the Republican state 
central committee, I took an active part in the campaign 
that followed, as in fact I had done at everj^ previous election 
since my residence in this state, but this time I spent the 
whole autumn in making a thorough political canvass 
through most of the Scandinavian settlements in the state. 
During that canvass it was my good fortune for a long time 
to be associated with the late William Windom, then a 
United States senator, and afterward twice secretary of the 
treasury. 
Mr. Windom was at that time in the very prime of his 



Story of an Emigrant. 139 

noble manhood ; his fine mental and physical endowments 
made him an object of love and veneration among the peo- 
ple. Though a man of the purest character and exemplary- 
life, he was a pleasant, boon companion, fond of a joke and 
a good story, liberal and charitable in his judgment of 
others, easy and polite in his manners, open-hearted and 
kind toward all. He was a large, broad-shouldered man, 
weighing over two hundred pounds, with a high forehead, 
dark eyes, and smoothly shaved face. As a speaker he was 
earnest, though quiet, fluent and humorous. He never used 
tobacco or spirits in any form. We traveled together in all 
sorts of conveyances, and held meetings in country stores 
and school houses ; ate and slept in the lowly cabins of the 
farmers, but everywhere Mr. Windom felt at home, and 
made every body else feel at ease also. I was afterward 
with him often and in many places, — from the executive 
mansion in Washington to the frontier cabin in the west, — 
and for the last time in New York city, when he went there 
in August, 1890, to save the nation from a financial crisis, 
but never did I notice any difference in his conduct toward 
the humblest laborer or the highest in power. In sorrow 
and adversity he was a tender friend; in manners he was a 
Chesterfield; in the senate a Roman, and in the treasury 
department a Hamilton. By his death the nation, the state 
of Minnesota, and his numerous friends, among whom for 
many years I had the honor to be counted, sustained a heavy 
loss. 

Soon after the close of the campaign I commenced to pub- 
lish a Swedish weekly newspaper called Minnesota Stats 
Tidning, in Minneapolis, to which place I liad just removed 
with my family, and continued as its chief editor until the 
summer of 1881. 

In 1877 friends in Chicago and myself started another 
Swedish weekly, called Svenska Tribvncn, in that city, and 



140 Story of an Emigrant. 

for some time I had the actual management of both papers, 
dividingmy time between Minneapolis and Chicago. My aim 
in this journalistic work was mainly to instruct and educate 
my countrymen in such matters as might promote their well- 
being and make them good Amerian citizens. The Stats 
Tidning, or at least a part of it, gradually became a kind 
of catechism on law and political econom}^ containing infor- 
mation under the heading "Questions and Answers." This 
was intended especially for the Swedish farmers in the state. 
If a farmer was in doubt as to his legal rights in the case of 
a road, a fence, the draining of a marsh, or wished to know 
how to cure a sick horse or other animal, or how he could 
get money sent from Sweden, or if he wished advice or 
information on any other question relating to everj^day 
life, especially if he got into trouble of some kind, he would 
write to the Stats Tidning- for the desired information. 
Such letters were then printed in condensed form and fol- 
lowed by short, clear, pointed answers, and, so far, I have 
not heard of a single person being misled by those answers. 
On the other hand, I know that the public, and more es- 
pecially the newcomers, reaped very great benefits from 
them. Few persons have any idea of how irksome and 
laborious this kind of journalism is, and at times I was on 
the point of giving it up in despair. As an example I will 
relate one little incident connected with this work. A farmer 
in a neighboring county had, through ignorance of the home- 
stead law, met with difficulties in securing title to his claim. 
As usual he wrote to the Stats Tidning, and received the 
desired information just in time to save his property, which 
was worth over $1,000. On a visit to Minneapolis a short 
time afterw^ard his feeling of gratitude directed him to the 
office of the paper to express his thanks. In a conversation 
with him I found that he had never subscribed for the paper 
himself, but was in the habit of going to his neighbor every 



Story of an Emigrant. 141 

Saturday afternoon to read it. I asked if it would not 
be well lor him to subscribe for it also; it nii^ht 
happen to contain useful information in the future, 
iiid he could afford to pay for it. To this he answered: 
"No, I cannot do that, for I have not much time to read, 
and if I want to read I have some l)ack numbers of a church 
[)aper, from Sweden, and should I want to read answers to 
any questions I can borrow a copy of your paper from my 
neighbor." So highly did this good and pious farmer, from 
a financial point of view, appreciate inlormation which h^id 
saved him his home. In my opinion such people do not de- 
serve reproach, but sympathy on account of their gross ig- 
norance. It is also a fact, that, during all this time, the in- 
come received fi oni the paper did not cover its expenses, and 
it it had not been for other resources the enterprise would 
have failed even at the very climax of its popularity. 

After five years of untiring journalistic work I was only 
Loo glad of an ojjportunity to sell the paper in the spring of 
1881 to a publishing company, which soon moved the plant 
to St. Paul. My former associates, Messrs. Lunnow and 
Soderstrom, soon after commenced the publication of a new 
Swedish weekly, called Svcnska Folkets Tidning, which has 
now a larger circulation than any other Swedish paper in 
our state. Having sold my share in the Svenska Tribanen 
in Chicago a few years before, and thus being no longer con- 
nected with any newspapers, I found more time to devote to 
my wheat farm in the Red River valley. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

I am Appointed Cousul-General to India — Assassination of Garfield — De- 
parture for India — My Stay in Chicago and Washington — Paris and 
Versailles — Rome—Naples — Pompeii — From Naples to Alexandria — Inter- 
esting Acquaintances on the Voyage — The First Impressions in Egypt. 



In the morning papers of Juh^ 2, 1881, a telegram from 
Washington announced that President Garfield had ap- 
pointed me consul-general to India, in the cabinet meeting 
of the previous evening. The same telegram also announced 
that the president had left Washington for New England, 
where he intended to spend his summer vacation in the 
country. It was with mingled feelings of satisfaction and 
misgiving that I faced the opportunity to satisfy my long- 
ing to see the wonderful Orient, especiall}^ India, in which 
country the missionary Dr. Fjellstedt had aVoused my child- 
ish interest, as stated in the beginning of these reminiscences. 
Alter consulting wife and children concerning this, to us, im- 
portant news, I walked down town, receiving congratula- 
tions from friends and acquaintances on the way, and, 
arriving at one of the newspaper offices, I found a large 
crowd of people eagerly reading on a bulletin-board a dis- 
patch to the effect that President Garfield had been shot by 
Guiteau, The news caused an excitement and consternation 
almost as intense as that produced by the assassination of 
Lincoln. Telegrams were received from Washington contin- 
ually, and outside the newspaper offices were placed bulle- 

143 



144 Story of an Emigrant. 

tins describing the condition of the wounded president, who 
w^as very popular with the American people. The last tele- 
gram of that day announced that he was very low, and 
would probably die before morning. The next morning the 
dispatches announced that the president was still living, 
and that on the previous evening, believing that he had 
only a few more hours to live, he had caused to be made out 
my own and four other commissions and had signed them 
with his dying hand. I feel justified in narrating this in de- 
tail, inasmuch as I am in possession of the document which 
contains the last official signature of our second martyred 
president, and which is a very dear treasure to me. Believ- 
ing that it will interest the reader to see the last signature 
of President Garfield, I submit a photographic fac-simile of 
the same. 




Garfield's signature. 

I had only one month to prepare for the journey, and on 
account of the long and expensive voyage, it was decided, 
in family council, that I should go alone, leaving wife and 
children in Minneapolis. It was also understood that I 
would only be absent about one year, for it was hardly to 
be expected that a person of my age could stand the danger- 
ous climate of India much longer. 

The 17th of August, 1881, was an important day for our 
little family, for on that day I left my home for a journey 
of thirteen thousand miles,— to distant Calcutta, the capital 
of India. Passing through Chicago on the following day, a 
number of my Swedish friends at that place had arranged a 



Story of ah Emigrant. 14^ 

splendid banquet in my honor. About sixty of us spent a 
most delightful evening around the bountiful table; bu^^ 
what I prized more highly than anything else were the 
friendly and cordial feelings which were expressed in speech 
and song. 

In Washington I spent a few days in crder to receive the 
last instructions from the state department. Hon. W. Win- 
dom, who was secretary of the treasury under the adminis- 
tration of Garfield, accompanied me to the White house, 
where the president was yet hovering, between life and 
death. We were not admitted to the inner room, which was 
separated from the front room only by draperies. I can 
vividly recall the picture of the president's noble wife as she 
stepped out to us, and, with an expression of the deep" 
est suffering, affection and hope in her face, told us 
that the patient had taken a few spoonfuls of broth, and 
that he now felt much better, and would soon recover- 
Thus life and hope often build air-castles which are des- 
tined to be torn down again by the cruel hand of fate. 

When the steamer touched the coast of Ireland the first 
news which the eager passengers received was that the pres- 
ident was still living and had been taken to a place on the 
coast. The voyage across the Atlantic from New York to 
Liverpool was a pleasure trip in every respect, and was fav- 
ored by the most delightful weather. On board the White 
Star Line steamer Celtic, — a veritable palace of its kind, — 
the passenger had all he could wish, as far as solidit\', 
speed, reliability, order, comfort, and good treatment are 
concerned. On September 9th I arrived in Paris. It seemed 
to me as if it had been only a couple of days since I was sil- 
ting in the midst of that happy company of friends in Chi- 
cago, whose tender and cordial farewell still sounded as an 
echo in my ears— or maybe in my heart. Nevertheless I was 



146 Story of an Ejai>iRANT. 

already in the grand and happy capital of the third French 
republic. 

I had time and opportunity to stay a few days in the 
large cities through which I passed, each one of which left a 
particular impression on my mind, and, although they are 
similar in most respects, each of them has its peculiarities, 
especially with regard to the character, temperament and 
customs of the people. I cannot refrain from describing a 
few of them. Washington did not seem to be itself when I 
passed through it, a cloud of sadness and mourning brood- 
ing over it on account of the critical condition of the presi- 
dent. Boston is prim and stiff, and seems like a place of 
learning. New York is a turmoil of pleasure and business. 
"Hurry up" seems to be written in every face; "tumble 
harum-scarum in the ever-changing panorama of the 
world ! " Liverpool is a good deal like New York, but on a 
smaller scale. London is the stiff colossus of Europe. Am- 
sterdam and Rotterdam bear the stamp of thrift, cleanliness, 
earnestness, and comfort. Antwerp and Brussels that of 
joyous abandonment. Paris includes everything which is 
worth seeing in the others, and shows everything in gayer 
colors and to greater perfection. 

I remained only four da3's in the city on the Seine, and the 
impressions of such a short stay are naturally fleeting and 
probably even unreliable. Paris has its imposing monu- 
ments from the days of Louis XIV. and the two Napoleons, 
which glorify the exploits of war; it has its beautiful 
churches, palaces and museums like other great cities; but in 
myeyes the greatness of Paris is to be found in her boulevards 
and public promenades. I also ma :le a visit to Versailles, the 
wonderful city of palaces, and spent a day among the great 
monuments of grandeur and royalty, misery and tyranny. As 
works of art they are grand and beautiful, but their historical 
significance produce varied feelings. In the French capital 



Story of an Er.igrant. 147 

everything seemed to indicate comfort and satisfaction. The 
workman of Paris is a gentleman in the best sense of the word. 
Hefeelsfree, independent, and proud in the consciousness that 
he is a part of the state. Soldiers were no longer to be seen 
in the city; they being garrisoned at Versailles and other 
neighboring cities; still there has never before been such a 
feeling of profound peace and security in France. Liberty is 
a great educator. Tlie style, name, and other indications 
of the empire are passing away, and the republic has put its 
stamp on Paris. The commune is no longer feared, for the 
state is no longer an enemy of the people, but a protector of 
its rights and liberty. Fortunate Paris! Happy France! 

But I must hurry on, in order to reach the end of my long 
journey. On the 13th of September I saw the majestic Alps 
with their snow-clad summits, which seemed to touch tlie 
very vault of heaven. The same day I passed through the 
tunnel at Mont Cenis, and arrived the following day at 
Rome, via Turin and Florence. And is this great and glori- 
ous Rome? Yes! These walls, ruins, palaces, and Sabine 
hills, — aye, the very air I breathe, — all this belongs to the 
eternal city. From the window^ of my room in Hotel 
Malori I can read the signs, — "Via di Capo le Care," "Via 
Gregoriana," etc., and among these an index pointing to the 
Rome and Tivoli street-car line. Indeed, I have seen the 
great city of Rome, w4th its churches, statues, paintings, 
and ancient ruins and catacombs; the little monument to 
the Swedish Queen Christina in the St. Peter's church ; the 
triumphal arch which commemorates the destruction of 
Jerusalem, and the temple of Vesta where the ancient vestal 
virgins guarded the sacred fire. Two thousand years thus 
passed in review before my eyes in a few^ days. 

From Rome I proceeded to Naples. This city is built on 
the most beautiful bay in the world, and has a population 
of six hundred thousand inhabitants. It is built in the form 



Story of an Emigrant. 149 

of an amphitlieatre, with a steep decline toward the watei. 
In the south w^e see the island of Capri, fifteen miles distant, 
and on the east coast the volcano Vesuvius, which, by its 
threatening clouds of smoke, seems to obscure the eastern 
part of beautiful Naples, although it lies fourteen miles dis- 
tant from the city. Long before the time of Christ the ba}' 
looked about the same as it does now. The chief cities 
around it at that time were Naples, Herculaneum and 
Pompeii. Mount Vesuvius, how^ever, did not look as it does 
now^ but rose as a green hill, called '*La Somma," and 
served as a summer resort for manj' wealthy Roman patri- 
cians. The city of Pompeii had about fort}'- thousand in- 
habitants. On August 23, A. D. 79, terrific rumblings 
were heard from the interior of La Somma, the summit of 
which suddenly burst open, and a pillar of ashes, steam, and 
red-hot rocks shot up through the openingto a great height, 
and fell, scattering itself over the surrounc ing country, while 
streams of melted lava, rolled down the hill-sides and buried 
Herculaneum and everything in it under a layer of ashes and 
lava to the depth of eight}'- feet. Toward night the erup- 
tions increased in force, and before morning Pompeii and 
some smaller townis w^ere also buried under the glowing riv- 
ers of volcanic rocks, ashes and mud. 

The remarkable history of this place absorbed my mind as 
I passed through the two thousand years-old streets of 
Pompeii, which, in the course of this century have again 
been brought to light by the removal of the petrified ashes 
and other volcanic matter. The ancient city now looks a 
good deal as it did eighteen hundred years ago. It is situ- 
ated on a round knoll, and measures three miles in circum- 
ference. The houses are built of stone, and only one story 
high, with roofs of brick and floors of cut stone, just as the 
modern houses in that vicinity are built to-day. Every 
house has an open court in the center, and all aisles and 



150 SioKY OF AN Emigrant. 

doors lead to this. Glass windows were not used, but the 
rooms received light from the open court, which could be 
covered by canvass as a protection against the sun and 
rain. I measured the streets. They proved to be twelve 
feet wide, with a four-foot-wide sidewalk on either side. The 
paving consisted of boulders, with a flat surface about 
twenty inches in diameter, and contained deep grooves 
made by the chariot wheels. The houses were standing in 
their original condition, with fresco paintings on the walls 
and statues in their proper niches. The temples with their 
sacrificial altars, the theatres, the court, the council-house, 
and all other public buildings were adorned with marble 
pillars and choice w^orks of sculpture. I saw a barber-shop 
with chairs, niches for the soap and mugs, and the waiting 
sofa. In a baker's house I saw the oven, the dough-trough, 
scales, and petrified loaves of bread. In a butcher shop 
were a saw, a knife, and other tools. There were also furni- 
ture, vessels for cooking, bowls, grain, pieces of rope, and 
plaster of Paris casts of the human bodies which had been 
found, generally prostrate, with the face pressed against the 
ground. There lies a cast of a man with a pleasant smile 
on his lips; he must have passed unconsciously from sleep to 
death. But it is fruitless to tr}^ and describe this remark- 
able place which has no parallel on the face of the earth. I 
heard the Swedish language spoken in this city of the dead, 
and had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Alder- 
man Tornquist and wife, from Wimmerby, and a Doctor 
Yiden and his daughter, from Hernosand. Thus the living 
meet among the dead, representatives of the new times 
stand face to face with the dead of antiquity, children 
of the cool North in the sunny South. What a wonderful 
world this is, to be sure ! 

The 17th of September I embarked on board the steamer 
La Seyne, destined for Alexandria in Egypt. The warm, 



Story of an Emigrant. 151 

Italian noonday sun poured do-wn its dazzling rays; we 
were surrounded on all sides by ships and steamers carrying 
the flags of all nations; hundreds of fishing crafts were 
sailing out of the harbor, and in the distance the mighty 
volcano Vesuvius towered in imposing majesty above the 
vine-clad hills. There was a life and a traffic w^hich it is 
difficult to describe. While La Seyne was lying at anchor 
for several hours out in the bay, Italian singers in their 
boats swarmed around the ship and entertained the passen- 
gers with music. Other boats contained three or four men 
each, who begged the passengers to throw coins into the 
w^ater. As soon as a coin -was thrown, down dived one of 
the men to the bottom, and invariably returned with the 
coin in his mouth although the water w^as very deep, per- 
haps from seventy-five to one hundred feet. The voyage 
across the Mediterranean w^as very pleasant, especially in 
the vicinity of the islai d of Sicily. The deep blue sky, the 
orange groves and vineyards on the island, and the neat, 
white cottages, — all gave an impression of indescribable 
tranquility and happiness. 

On this voyage, which lasted three days, I became ac- 
quainted w^ith several interesting persons, among others 
with a Professor Santamaria, professor in an university 
in Egypt, and his family, and with a Jesuit priest, 
Miechen by name. By birth a French nobleman of a very 
old and rich family, he had been educated for a military 
life, and had served in the army wnth distinction, and in the 
late Franco-German war he had been advanced to the rank 
of major, although he was only thirty years of age. But 
suddenly he had been seized with religious enthusiasm, and 
had given up his illustrious family name, renounced his 
fortune, his honors, and the brilliant military career which 
lay open to him, in order to become a priest. After two 



152 Story of an Emigrant. 

yeans of theological studies he was ordained a priest, and 
admitted into the Jesuit order. 

He had now been ordered to supply himself with a full set 
of certain scientific instruments, and with them to repair to 
Cairo, Egypt, where he w^ould receive further orders. 1 
talked a great deal with this man. He spoke English flu- 
ently, and w^as equally familiar with nearly all the other 
European languages. He was no fanatic or religious crank, 
but a polished, cultured gentleman, who had seen and 
learned to know the v^^orld, reaped its honors and tasted its 
allurements, and he was evidently as liberal and tolerant as 
myself. And this man went to a field of action of which he 
had no knowledge whatsoever. Probably an honorable 
position as professor in a university was awaiting him, or 
perhaps he would have to go to some isolated mountain to 
observe a phenomenon of nature in the interest of science, or 
penetrate a malarious wilderness as missionary among sav- 
ages, where he would be debarred from all intercourse with 
civilized people, and deprived of all the comforts and con- 
veniences to which he had been used during his previous life. 
Still he went w^illingly and joyfully to his work, completely 
indifferent as to his fate, thoroughly convinced that he was 
on the path of duty — to accomplish what God intended he 
should do. I was on my way to a great country and a 
court as the representative of one of the greatest nations on 
earth, but when I walked the deck arm in arm with this 
humble priest, I felt my inferiority compared with him, and 
I actually considered his position enviable. On the same 
vo3'age I became acquainted with a Danish traveler, — A. 
d'Irgens-Bergh, — who afterw-ard met me in India, where we 
visited many places of interest together, and established a 
friendship which afforded both of us much pleasure. 

On the morning of September 21st the coast of Egypt 
appeared in sight. There is Alexandria, founded by Alexan 



Story of an Emigrant. 153 

der the Great, and formerly renowned for its commerce, and 
as the centreoflearningandcultureof the then known world. 
Even now this city is grand and beautiful, although its 
beauty and style are different from anythingelse that I have 
seen. We often form conceptions of things which we have 
not seen, but which are interesting to us, and when we after- 
ward find that those conceptions are wrong we feel disap- 
pointed. Thus I had always thought of Egypt as a countrv 
of a dark tone of color, probably on account of the fertility 
of the soil of the valley of the Nile, since we Northerners 
find that fertile soil is dark and poor soil of a lighter color. 
Therefore I could hardly believe my own eyes when every- 
thing I saw on the shore looked white. Not only the 
houses, palaces, and huts, but even the roads and the fields, 
all had a white color. 

As we neared the harbor, and even before the pilot came on 
board, we noticed that all the flags were at half-mast. As soon 
as I landed and had shown my passport to the customs officer 
an elegant equipage was placed at my disposal under the 
charge of a dragoman, and we drove to the office of the 
American consulate, where also the flag w^as at half-mast. 
The sad occasion for this soon became apparent. President 
Garfield had died during my voyage across the Mediterra- 
nean, and the whole civilized world w^as in mourning. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Alexandria and its Monuments— The Egyptian "Fellahs"— The Moham- 
medans and Their Religion— The Voyage Through the Suez Caual— The 
Red Sea — The Indian Ocean — The Arrival at Calcutta. 



I was now in Africa and Egypt, among the remnants of 
ancient glory of which I had read so much, and which I so 
often had longed to see, in the wonder-land of Eg3^pt, with 
which every Christian child is made acquainted through the 
first lessons in Bible history, the country to which Joseph 
was carried as a slave, and whose actual ruler he finally 
became by dint of his wisdom and virtue. I was in the Nile 
valley where Pharoah built his magazines and stored up 
grain for the seven years of famine, and whence Moses con- 
ducted the children of Israel by means of "a pillar of a 
cloud and a pillar of fire." In the land of the pyramids 
everything seemed strange and wonderful, and different 
from anj^thing I had seen before. The streets crowded with 
people, the bazaars, the oriental costumes, the Babylonian 
confusion of all the tongues of the earth, — all this combined 
made on me an overwhelming impression. Cleopatra's 
needle; Pompey's pillar; the caravans of camels on their 
way into the desert; the old graves and catacombs; the 
palm groves, the oxen turning the old-fashioned water- 
wheels which carry the water from the Nile for irrigating 
the fields, just as in the days of Moses, — all this was repro- 
duced in actual, living pictures before my wondering eyes. 

154 



Story of an Emigrant. 



155 



Side by side with these remains of the past we meet with 
the great European improvements of our days,— the large 
ships in the harbor, the churches, the schools, the universi- 
ties, the modern markets for trade and commerce, the splen- 
did hotels and exchan^ics. 





-^- 



ALEXANDRIA. 



I stopped two days in Alexandria. The second day I 
visited the summer palace of the khediye, or vice-king, on 
which occasion a funny incident took place. Like every 
other foreigner coming to Egypt I had bought a sample of 
the head-gear generally used in that country, consisting of a 
red cap called "fez," which is made of very thick, soft felt, and 
fits very closely to the head. With this cap on and wearing 
a tightly buttoned black coat I rode in the equipage already 
mentioned to the palace. Ishmael Pasha, the former khe- 
dive, who had just abdicated and left the country, had been 
very popular among his servants and adherents. I w^as of 
the same size and build as he, my beard was cut like his, and 



156 Story of an Emigrant. 

in my red fez I looked so much like him that when our car- 
riage pas>ed through tlie gateway to the palace some of 
the servants \vhis]:)ered to each other that Khedive Ish- 
mael had returned, and when the coachman stopped at the 
entrance I was surrour;djd by a number of servants who 
greeted me and evinced tiie greatest jo}'. The poor creatures 
soon discovered tiieir mistake. Tiieir good friend the 
khedive will never return to Egypt, for England and France 
will not allow it. He was too sincere a friend of his own 
people, and too independent in denling with the share- 
holders of the Suez canal built during his reign. 

Alexandria has a population of two-hundred-fifty thou- 
sand. It was founded by Alexander the Great three hundred 
years before Christ, on account of the great natural advan- 
tages of this place as a seaport. At the time of Christ it 
had about half a million inhabitants. It w^as repeatedly 
ravaged by destructive wars, and hnally completely pillaged 
by Caliph Omar, who is also said to have burnt its library, 
the largest and most valuable collection of books of an- 
tiquit}', an act by which civilization suffered an irreparable 
loss, the library containing the only copies of a number of 
ancient literary works. It is claimed that the caliph gave 
liis generals the following characteristic answ^er, when asked 
what was to be done with the library: "If it contains any- 
thing contrary to the Koran it is wrong;' if it contains any- 
thing that agrees with the Koran it is super£uous; there- 
fore, at all events, it ought to be burnt. " 

The most remarkable of the ancient monuments still 
remaining in Alexandria is Pompey's pillar, which is a mon- 
olithic shaft of polished red granite, seventy-three feet high 
and twenty-nine feet eight inches in circumference. One of 
the most interesting objects of a more recent origin was the 
Cafe El Paradiso. It consists of an immense restaurant and 
concert hall, or rather halls, for there are many of them. 



Story of an Emigrant, 



157 



One of these extends over the water, so that when one sits 
there drinking genuine Mocha coffee and smoking a Turkish 
aargileli one can hear the beating of the waves and feel the 




PILLAR OF POMPEH. 

undulations of the azure Mediterranean. I drove out in- 
to the country a few miles to see the Egyptian fellahs, or 
peasants. No — I shall not disgrace the n^me "peasant" by 
using it here; for the Egyptian fellah is an ignorant, 
superstitious, absolutely destitute, and, in every respect, 
miserable wretch, and is worse off than a slave. Two walls 
of stones or earth make one or two rooms, with a floor of 
clay and a roof of straw or sod. A wooden box, a couple of 
kettles, and some mats made of grass or palm canes, are the 
only pieces of furniture. A couple of goats, an ass, or, at 
the very best, a yoke of oxen, are all he possesses in this 
world. He works hard, and his fare is exceedingly plain. 
He neither desires nor expects an^^thing better, nothing 



153 



Story of an Emigrant, 



stimulates him to acquire wealth; for that would only give 
the tax-gatherer a pretext for extra extortions. Miserable 
Egypt! I have seen much poverty and much misery among 
men; but of everything I have seen in that line nothing can 
be compared with the wretched condition of the Egyptian 
fellah. 

Still these unfortunate people seem to find happiness in 
their religion. Here some one might object that this is a 




FELLAH HUT. 



vsrretched happiness, because their religion is Mohammedan- 
ism or Islamism. Man feels himself drawn to a higher pow^- 
er. No matter what his condition, he longs for a life after 
this, and searches after an object for his worship, and when 
he has found this object he will give up his life rather than 
give up his faith. And still that object for which a person 
or a nation is willing to sacrifice even life itself is ridiculed 
and despised by another person and another nation. If the 



■^^TORY UF AN EiWIGRANT. 



loa 



ignorant were the only ones 'who disagree in matters of 
faith, this condition might be easily explained; but even the 
highest civilization has failed in its attempts to harmonize 
the different religions, and, in my opinion, this fact ought 
to make all thinking men tolerant and liberal toward those 
who hold different religious views. The Mohammedan faith 
has made a deep and lastingimpression on a population scat- 
tered over a large part of the 
surface of our earth, and no 
one dares deny that its adher- 
ents are much more devoted to 
their religion and much more 
conscientious in observing its 
rites than we as Christians are 
with reference to our religion. 
The adherents of Moham- 
med no\v number one hundred 
ff^lf^ and thirty millions, and the 

Y i a numberisconstantly growing. 

Man}' believe that this religion 
^^ gains so many adherents be- 
cause it is sensual, and allows 
^ " all kinds of debauchery. But 
this supposiuion runs counter 
to the facts. It is true, that 
M shammed allowed a man 
to have four wives; but it 
must be remembered that he 
FELLAH WOMAN. limited the number to four, and 

that the number had been unlimited before. The life 
of an orthodox Musselman is an unbroken chain of self- 
denial and self-sacrifice, and, in this respect, we must ac- 
knowlege that he is superior to us Christians. His chief 
article of faith is expressed in this dogma: "There is no 




160 



Story of an Emigrant. 



f^od but Allah, and Mohammed is liis prophet." The lead- 
ing commandments bearing on the practice of their religion 
are prayer, ablutions, alms-giving, fasting, and a pilgrimage 
to Alecca. The use of intoxicating drinks is strictly pro- 
hibited, hospitalit_vis recommended, gambling and usury are 
not allowed. Friday is the Mohammedan's day of rest. 
Since my first visit in Egypt I have been very closely con- 
nected with many Mohammedans, several of whom have 




'K ''^'^'i^^^^^^jmm^ii^:^ 



IRRIGATION MILL. 



been members of my own household, and it afifords me great 
pleasure to testif}^ that, as far as my observations go, they 
have lived faithfully according to the precepts of their relig- 
ion. Nay, I am convinced that in most cases they would 
renounce property, liberty, and even life itself, rather than 
violate any of the cardinal precepts of the Koran. But as 



Stoky of an Emiokant. 161 

to the Egyptian fellah, he has no comfort to renounce, his 
whole life being made up of continual fasting and abstinence 
from sheer necessit^^ so that it is comparatively easy for him 
to be a good Mohammedan. 

Having engaged a berth for the voyage from London to 
India on the steamer City of Canterbury, which I was to 
take about this time at the west end of the Suez canal, I 
could not remain any longer in Eg^'pt, but took the Austrian 
steamer Apollo to Port Said, at the entrance to the Suez 
canal. On September 25th, in the evening, I embarked on 
the City of Canterbury where I made myself comfortable in 
a fine state-room which had been reserved for me. It takes 
two days to pass through the Suez canal, which runs 
through a great sandy plain that was formerly covered by 
the waters of the Red Sea, Among the many memorable 
places which were pointed out to us during this passage was 
also the spot w^here Moses is said to have conducted the 
Israelites across the Red Sea. The work on the Suez canal 
was commenced in 1859 and completed in 1869, and it cost 
about $95,000,000. The length of the canal is one hundred 
miles, its width at the surface of the water is three hundred 
and twenty-eight feet, at the bottom seyenty-two feet, and 
its depth twenty-six feet. To a ship sailing from Sweden 
or England to Bombay in India, the distance bj' way of the 
Suez canal is five thousand miles shorter than by the passage 
around the Cape of Good Hope. 

I recollect an anecdote which dates from the opening of 
the canal in 1869. On that occasion an irreverent speaker 
is claimed to have said in toasting De Lesseps, the French 
engineer w^ho planned and executed the work, that the lat- 
ter was the only man who had improved upon the work of 
the creator: He had connected the waters of the Red Sea 

and those of the Mediterranean. Thus the significance of 
11 



162 ~ Story of an Emigrant. 

a great work may also find an expression in the garb of a 
bold joke. 

Having remained in Suez a short while, the steamer glided 
out on the Red Sea, keeping close up to the naked coast of 
Africa. On the second day of our Red Sea voyage we saw 
Mount Sinai looming up some distance from the coast of 
Arabia. September is the hottest month of the year in that 
region, and as we had the wind with us, the customary 
breeze caused b}^ the motion of the steamer was neutralized, 
and the heat was terrific. We slept on the deck, and we 
hailed the morning hour with joy on account of the shoAver- 
bath w^hich was afforded when the sailors washed the dtck. 
It is a conundrum to me why this body of water is called 
the Red Sea, for there is nothing whatever to suggest this 
color. One day we had a miniature illustration of a sand 
storm. A strong wind carried the sand from the coast of 
Africa several miles into the sea and covered the steamer 
with a layer of fine, white sand, which looked like fresh 
snow. We also had a chance to see flj^iug fish which flew 
over the ship, and occasionally fell down on the deck. 
These fish \vere small and silver-colored, their fins looking a 
good deal like the wings of the bat. They can not turn in 
their course, nor can they fly up and down at pleasure, but 
only upward and forward in a straight line; and when they 
fall down on the deck they are just as helpless as any other 
fish out of water. 

Having reached the Indian ocean, the temperature became 
more pleasant, so that we no longer suffered so much from 
the heat. At last oiir splendid steamer plowed its course up 
the majestic Ganges, the sacred river with its one himdred 
mouths, on whose peaceful bosom millions and millions of 
human bodies have been carried to the ocean. For a dis- 
tance of eighty miles we sailed up this wonderful river, 



Story of an Emigrant. 163 

and on either side we could see cities, temples, palm groves, 
and large crowds of people. On October 15th we arrived at 
Calcutta, where I was received by the American vice-consul, 
and comfortably quartered in the Great Eastern hotel. 



CPIAPTER XVI. 

India— Tts People, Religion, Etc.— The Fertility of the Country— The Cli- 
mate — The Dwellings — Punkah — Costumes — Calcutta — Dalhousie 
Square — Life in the Streets. 



This is India, the wonderful land of the Hindoos. Africa 
had appeared strange to us compared with Europe and 
America; Asia seemed still more so. The Hindoos have a 
high and very old civilization, but entirely different from 
that of Europe and America. The country is named after 
the river Indus. It is hardly equal in area to one-half of 
the United States, but contains a population of more than 
two hundred and sixty-nine millions, dghty-one millions of 
whom are Mohammedans, one hundred and ninety millions 
Brahmins, two millions Christians, three and a half mil- 
lions, Buddhists, Parsees or fire-worshipers, two millions 
Sikhs, and the rest are Jews or adherents of unknown re- 
ligions. Queen Victoria of England is Empress of India, 
and the country is ruled in her name by a viceroy. It is 
divided into three great presidencies, viz., Bengal, Madras, 
and Bombay, and these are again divided into a number of 
districts and native principalities. In order to maintain her 
supremacv in India, England keeps an army of about two 
hundred thousand regulars, of whom a little over one-third 
are English and the rest natives ; and beside these there is a 
large militia and police force. Most of the native soldiers 
hail from the mountain districts. The most prominent of 

164 



Story of an Emigrant. 



165 



them belong to the Sikhs and Gourkas, two Indian nations. 
The Sikhs are tall, stately fellows, in my opinion ideal sol- 
diers for a standing army. The Gourkas are smaller in 




SIKH CAVALRY MAN. 

stature, but very energetic and hardy ; and both are renowned 
for their courage and endurance. It is said that a Gourka 
soldier would rather fight than eat, while a Sikh takes the 
matter more philosophically, and eats first and then fights. 
All native regiments are cpmmanded by British officers, and 



166 Story of an Emigrant. 

a native seldom attains the rank of a commanding officer,— 
not because he is incapable of performing this duty, but 
rather because the English do not trust him implicitly. 

The bulk of the people belong to the Arian race, as we do; 
with the exception of the complexion, which is a little 
darker, their features are the same as ours. Occasionally a 
Hindoo may have red hair, but never blonde hair and blue 
eyes. Comparing the higher and the lower classes, the com- 
plexion of the former is lighter, and their bodies are better 
built and statelier than those of the lower or laboring classes, 
who also have a darker skin. The English language is used 
at the court and in all official circles, and the men of the 
higher classes among the natives speak and read English. 

The plain of Bengal, in which Calcutta is situated, is trian- 
gular in form, each side being about one thousand miles in 
length. It is bounded by the Bay of Bengal, the Indian 
ocean, the Bay of Persia, and the Himalaya mountains. 
The soil is very rich, and, having been cultivated for thou- 
sands of years, it still produces two or three fair crops a year 
without fertilization or proper cultivation. As the Nile in 
Egypt deposits a rich sediment over its valley, so does the 
river Ganges carry from the mountains a whitish, slimy silt, 
which it deposits during its annual overflow in the plains of 
Bengal. This silt is a great fertilizer, and thus nature sup- 
plies what poor husbandry fails to provide. 

It is not my intention to give a description of India and 
its wonderful people, but simply to give some pen pictures 
of scenes and incidents which came within the range of my 
observation and experience during the year and a half which 
I stayed there. I shall therefore ask the reader to follow me 
on my daily walks of life as well as to some of the fetes and 
entertainments where I was a guest, and on my travels 
through the wonderful country. I had a chance to come in 
contact with all classes, as the rank to which my official 



168 SroRv OF AN Emigrant. 

position entitled me not only opened the doors of tlie pal- 
aces and temples to me, but also paved my way to the 
humblest houses. 

India has over five hundred cities. Of these Calcutta is 
the largest, and has a population of about eight hundred 
thousand. It is called "the city of palaces," but only cer- 
tain portions of the city deserve that name. Owing to the 
warm climate, the buildings in India, as in all other warm 
countries, are low, seldom more than two stories high, and the 
walls and roofs are very thick. The building material gen- 
erally con.sists of brick and cement, the roofs being mostly 
made of the latter. There are verandas on the sides of the 
houses, and these, as well as the windows, are protected by 
heavy Venetian blinds. In the evening the doors and win- 
dows are thrown open so as to let in the cool night air, but 
in the morning they are closely shut, so as to keep as much 
of it as possible. Inside there are many contrivances for 
protecting the people against the excessive heat. The most 
important of these is the punkah, consisting of a wooden 
framework which is stretched with heavy canvass and is 
about two and a half feet wide, and from ten to twenty feet 
long, according to the size of the room. It is suspended 
from the ceiling, and reaches down to the heads of people 
sitting on chairs. By means of pulleys this punkah is kept 
in an oscillating motion by coolies stationed in the back of 
the house or on the back porch, and it creates such a pleas- 
ant breeze that one forgets all about the heat. Every room 
or office in the houses of Europeans and Americans has its 
punkah, and even the churches have a great ntimber of thejii 
during the hot season. From A'larch till October the pun- 
kahs are kept in motion all night over the beds of those who 
can afford the luxury of four "punka walla" (pullers); for 
it always takes two pullers for each punkah in the day-time, 
and two others at night to relieve each other every hour or 



Story of an Emigrant. 



169 



two. Servants' wages are very low in India, and as the 
punkah walla belongs to the lowest grade of servants his 
wages are only five rupees ($2.50) a month, and he must 
board himself as do all other servants. 

The clothing which people wear also adds largely to their 
comfort. The cooley, or common laborer, wears a long 
piece of cloth wrapped around his waist and tucked up so as 
to resemble a short pair of drawers, and a head gear some- 
what resembling a turban; the breast, back, and upper 
limbs being entirely naked. Both men and women of the 










TYPES OF THE LOWEST CASTE. 



better class of natives have loose falling robes of jute, silk or 
cotton. Europeans generalh^ dress in white linen trousers 
and jackets, and it is only toward evening when taking a 



170 Story of an Emigrant. 

drive near tlie public parks, or at niglit while attending par- 
ties and receptions, that etiquette compells them to put on 
the black dress suit. What strikes the newcomer most on 
his first arrival in India is perhaps the great number of peo- 
ple that he meets and sees. The cities are veritable bee-hives 
of moving crowds of people, and the bazaars, shops, and 
dwellings resemble honey-combs, with their many subdivis- 
ions, giving each man or group of men the smallest possible 
space. 

Sitting in m}' comfortable easy chair with my eyes closed, 
thinking of the past, I now see a picture of a spot in 
Calcutta called "Dalhousie Square," where I loved to walk 
in the cool evening shades. I wish I were an artist and could 
paint the picture on canvas for my readers ; but since I am 
not I will try to describe it with the pen. Dalhousie square 
is about twice the size of our ordinary city parks; it is laid 
out in walks, flow^er beds and grass plots, and planted with 
flowers, shrubs and trees of almost every imaginable kind ; 
it is a perfect gem of a little park. It is surrounded by 
a high iron railing, with gates at the four corners, which are 
open in the day time. On one side of the park are the new 
government office buildings, while the other sides are lined 
with ordinary business houses, separated from the park by 
wide streets. The principal one of these streets leads from 
the viceroy's palace up to the native part of the city, and is 
generally frequented hj a great number of fine carriages, 
hacks, palanquin bearers, horsemen, and thousands cf 
pedestrians. 

At one corner is a hack stand, with hacks just like our 
own; but instead of our American hackdriver we find the 
native Jehu, or coachman, who, while waiting for a cus- 
tomer, sits perched on the seat with his feet drawn up under 
Lis body, engaged with needle and thread in sewing a gar- 



Story of an Emigrant. 171 

ment for himself or his wife, perhaps, or occupjaiig himself 
with a piece of embroidery or fine crochet w^ork. 

In front of yonder fine ofiice building is seated a Durwan 
(doorkeeper), who is a Brahmin or priest. He sits at that 
door or gate all day long, and sleeps in front of it at night 
on his little bed, which resembles a camp cot. Early in the 
morning he takes up his bed and walks with it to the rear, 
where stands a little cookhouse in which he prepares his 
food for the day, consisting chiefly of boiled rice and vege- 
tables. Just now he is reading aloud, and with a singing 
voice, from the Shastras (the Hindoo Bible) to a crowd of 
listeners, who eagerly and reverentl}' seize on every word 
from the holy writings. Just behind me on a green spot in 
the park a dozen or more Mohammedans lie prostrate, their 
foreheads touching the ground, repeating their prayers ; and 
if it happens to be at the setting of the sun hundreds of peo- 
ple are seen in the streets, shops, hotel corridors, or wherever 
they happen to be, turning their faces toward the holy city 
Mecca, reverently kneeling and saying their evening prayers. 

Here on the side-walk, close by, me sits a money-changer 
and broker. He has a box filled with coins of almost every 
kind and description ; he buys and sells gold and silver of 
other countries, such as are not current in Calcutta, loans 
money on jewelry and other valuables, and does a general 
banking business on a very small scale. There comes a 
peddler,— more of them. Now they are crowding in by the 
hundred, selling canes, parasols, embroideries, Avatches, 
jewelry, and trinkets of every description, following the 
foot passengers, running beside the carriages going at full 
speed, sticking their goods through the windows and implor- 
ing the occupants to buy. 

Going around to the more quiet side of the square, I find a 
professional writer squatted on the side-walk. He has a 
bundle of dry palm leaves, and a customer of the lowest 



172 



Story of an Emigrant. 



Hindoo classes stands before him stating^ what message he 
wishes to send to his wife and relatives in the countrj'. 
With a sharp steel instrument the writer inscribes some 
strange Bengal letters on the palm leaf, folds it upintoalittle 
package which is sent by a traveling neighbor, or, perhaps, 
by a swift messenger, to the dear one in the humble cottage 
which stands somewhere out on the plain among the rice 
fields. 

A little further on sits a native barber, also on the side- 
walk.* Instead of a barber's chair he has a common-sized 




HINDOO BAKBICK. 

brick. The man who is to be shaved squats down opposite 
the barber; if the customer is the shorter of the two tht- 
brick is put under his feet, but if he is taller the barber puts 
the brick under his own feet, in order that they may be on a 

«The Hindoos never sit as we do, but squat on the ground and rest the weight 
of the body on the heels. 



Story of an Emigrant. 173 

perfect level before the operation begins. A Hindoo barber 
not only shaves and cuts the hair, but also cleans the nails 
and ears and does other toilet work. 

There I see two stately men walking arm in arm ; they 
have fine cut, very regular features, and beautiful black hair 
and beard; their intelligent looks and easy carriage com- 
mand attention; they wear japanned shoes, snow white 
trousers, long white linen coats buttoned close to the chin, 
and high black hats without brim. They are Parsees, 
descendants of the ancient Persians and fire-worshipers, and 
probably merchants and men of w^ealth. And there again I 
see a group of Asiatic Jews in skull caps and long gow^ns, — 
keen, thoughtful and intelligent, without the slightest change 
in manners, costumes, or features since the days of the Jews 
of nineteen hundred years ago. 

In the crowded street I suddenly hear a shout, and see two 
men running with staffs in their hands, hallooing: "Stand 
aside, get out of the \vay. you fellows ! The Prince of Tra- 
vancore is coming! Clear the road, get out of the way!" 
Close on the heels of the runners is a magnificent carriage 
drawn by four Arabian steeds. By the side of the driver sits 
a trumpeter, who occasionally blows in a long horn to make 
known that the great personage is coming. Inside is the 
prince, and behind the carriage are four mounted soldiers, 
his body guard. 

Just coming in sight around a street corner, turning up 
one of the native streets, is a long line of ox-carts. They 
are loaded with cotton, jute, hides, indigo, or other native 
products. They are very light, and are drawn by a pair of 
Hindoo oxen no larger than a tw^o-year-old heifer of our 
cattle, but with fine limbs and a high hump over the shoul- 
ders. They are yoked far apart, about the same way as in 
Sweden; but the coolie driver sits close behind them and 
guides them by a twist of the tail with his hand. Several 



174 



Story of an Emigrant. 



palanquin-bearers are passing the square. The palanquin is 
a long covered box attached to a long pole and carried by 
four men, two at each end of the pole, which rests on their 
shoulders. Inside the palanquin is perhaps a Hindoo mer- 
chant going to a bazaar, or a couple of students going to 
the university, or maybe the wife of some well-to-do native 
merchant on the way to the home of her parents. 
The trees in the park are all full of flowers, like the tulij) 











INDIGO CART. 



tree and the chestnut in bloom. Innumerable birds of gay 
colors flutter among the branches of the trees, and on the 
roofs of the highest houses we discover a couple of the 
so-called adjutant birds, a species of stork, which stand 
like sentinels on guard watchmj the thousands of ravens 
that hover over the city ready to dive for any garbage that 
may be thrown out into the street or alley. Formerly, 
these were the only scavengers in the cities of India. A 



Story of an Emigrant. 



175 



dozen coolies who are almost naked are seen running among 
the carriages sprinkling water on the streets from goat 
skins, to keep the dust down. 

There comes a family procession of the lower class with a 
basket of bananas and wreaths of i3owers going to the 
river Ganges to offer sacrifices and enjoy an evening bath in 
the open river. Early every morning thousands upon thou- 





HINDOO MERCHANTS. 



sands may be seen in the streets bent on a similar errand. 
Men from Cashmere, Afghanistan, China, Arabia, Thibet, 
etc., are seen in the throng, dressed in their native costumes. 
It is a strange and beautiful picture to look at for a little 
while. I have described only a small portion of it, for fear 
of tiring the reader. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

The Promenades of the Fashionable World — Maidan — The Viceroy — British 
Domaiions in India. i 



No European or American walks oi.t doors in India, except- 
ing a promenade early in the morning or late in the evening. 
They are either carried in palanquins, or, which is more 
common, they keep a horse and carriage. Observing the 
good old rule of adopting the custom of the country, I also 
procured a phaeton and a gray Arab as well as the indispen- 
sable Hindoo driver and runner, and I now invite the reader 
to take a ride w^ith me late in the afternoon, when hundreds 
of equipages fill the fashionable driveways. 

It is five o'clock in the afternoon, and the dim rays of the 
setting sun allow us to lower the top of the carriage so that 
we may have an open view all around. But before doing 
this, we must exchange the white business suit and broad- 
brimmed Indian hat (which are made of the light pith of an 
Indian shrub somewhat similar to our elder bush, and cov- 
ered with a thin layer of cotton) for the conventional black 
hat and coat, for these people are dreadfully ceremonious. 
The chandra takes his place in the driver's seat, and the 
badon on the steps behind the carriage. They are both 
dressed in snow-white outer garments, which look a good 
deal like a common nightgown, and a head dress consisting of 
ten 3'ards of white muslin, wound several times around the 
head in the shape of a round turban. The Mohammedan 

17B 



Story of an Emigrant. 177 

coachmen and runners generally wear the colors of their 
masters in the same manner as other native servants do. 
In my case, of course, it was the red, white and blue sashes, 
belts and turbans. The runner has his place on a step be- 
hind the carriage, and it is his duty to jump off and run in 
front to clear the way whenever it may be necessary. 

We start from the Great Eastern hotel, where I first 
resided, down a long street called Chowringhee road, which 
is two miles long and very broad, and lined on the east side 
b}' English residences built of stone. Ever}' mansion stands 
in a large garden full of tropical trees and plants, and sur- 
rounded by a stone wall five feet high. There are wide 
double gates for carriage drives, and at these gates the dur- 
wan (gate or doorkeeper) sits the w^hole day long. On the 
west side of the street runs a double street-car track, and 
beyond this is an immense common parade or pleasure 
ground, the Maidan, which extends to the Hoogley, a branch 
of the Ganges. On the west side it is bounded by the 
Strand, and on all other sides by a macadamized road about 
one hundred and fifty feet wide and planted with large, 
shady trees on either side. The east side of this road is 
alread}' described. On the north side, from the river to 
Chowringhee road, between Eden Garden-and the palace, it 
is called the Esplanade. Another hundred-foot-wide road 
runs south from the palace, and divides the ground into 
halves. This is called the Red road because it is macadam- 
ized with crushed red brick. From the Red road opposite 
Fort William another great road runs to Chowringhee road. 
A great number of foot-paths cross each other in all 
directions, and in the evening these are crowded with 
people in oriental costumes going to their homes in the 
suburbs. 

Here and there are statues erected to the honor of promi- 
nent English generals and statesmen, and certain ports of the 

^12 



178 



Story of an Emigrant. 



grounds are also dotted with small groups of palms and 
other tropical trees. All these trees and plants are different 
from those growing in the North. Most of them have very 
broad and thick leaves, nearly all of them bear beautiful 
flowers, and many of them fruits. They are green the whole 
year round. In the north-east corner of the grounds is a 
garden of about forty acres which is called Eden. It is ex- 
ceedingly beautiful and contains a great variety of trees and 
flowers, an Indian pagoda, lakes, canals and bridges, and 
thousands of birds enjoying an almost undisturbed existence, 
and singing and twittering among the trees and flowers. 
Eden Garden is surrounded by a low brick wall with several 




GOVERNMENT HOUSE. 



gates, the widest of which is the one next to the Strand. In- 
side this gate is a high orchestra stand, and below a square 
promenade on the fine grass plat. From six to seven o'clock 
in the evening a military band plays to the fashionable world 
which gathers here to take an evening walk. 

A quarter of a mile below the Eden garden is the histor- 
ical Fort William, around which LordClive and other heroes 
struggled to found the British Empire of India. Below the 



Story of an Emigrant. 179 

fort and next to the Strand is the drill-ground, and below 
this again a large race course. South of Maidan are several 
suburbs, and beyond these a zoological garden. 

Driving past the imposing orange-colored palace of the 
viceroj^ called the government house, which very much re- 
sembles our capitol at Washington, but is neither so large 
nor so elegant, we finally strike the Esplanade, where the 
Chowringhee road meets the Red road. We stop a few 
minutes at the Esplanade to take a look at the gay picture. 
The Esplanade is crowded with a surging mass of humanity, 
all going from the river bank to their homes in the Eastern 
part of the city. It is the sixth day of the new moon, and 
thousands of men, women and children have been down to 
the river, ^vashed themselves in its waters, and offered sacri- 
fices consisting of fruits and flowers. The women are dressed 
in white, red, j-ellow, green, blue or violet garments. The 
smallest children sit astride on the left hip of their mothers, 
the men carry large baskets of fruit, mostly bananas, on 
their heads for the river-god received only a small portion, 
and the rest is to be eaten at home. Here and there among 
the pedestrians is a well-to do Hindoo who takes his family, 
con^isling of two or three wives and a crowd of children, to 
the river in an ox-cart. There are hundreds of musicians 
and peddlers in the throng, and all are joyful and rejoicing. 
It must be observed that only people of the lower classes 
take part in such public demonstrations in compan}^ with 
women and children. Fashionable women would never 
walk beyond the gardens around their own houses and do 
not appear in company. 

Soon carriages are seen passingby in longrows, either down 
the Red road or to the right alongthe Esplanade toward the 
Strand. We follow the latter and arrive at the river bank 
where thousands of peoj)le are yet busy with their sacrifices 
or trading with peddlers for fancy goods and dainties, while 



180 Story of an Emigrant. 

others listen to the music from peculiarly constructed flutes 
and drums, which vie with each other in producing the most 
ear-rending discord. Elegantly covered carriages swarm in 
four lines up and down the road. Most of the occupants 
are Englishmen with their ladies ; but you may also see 
quite a number of Hindoo princes or noblemen with their 
ladies in oriental costumes, or Parsee merchants in black 
silk coats and high caps. To the right there is a veritable 
forest of ship's masts extending along the beach for miles, 
and to the left some native soldiers are being drilled. We 
drive down and have a chat with the English officers and 
stop to see a game of polo played, the native cavalry con- 
testing with their English officers, all displaying a wonderful 
skill. Every now and then a couple of young Englishmen or 
officers on horseback meet each other, and yonder are two 
half-naked Hindoos on a jog-trot carrying a load which 
looks like a big coffin, but which turns out to be a palanquin 
occupied by a passenger who, in an inclined position, smokes 
his cigar and takes as much comfort as he can get in that 
primitive mode of traveling. But see there! At a given 
sign hundreds of men arrange themselves in long rows with 
their faces turned to the west, just as the sun sinks below 
the horizon; they prostrate themselves with their faces 
turned toward Mecca, and say their evening prayers. They 
are Mohammedans. 

Returning we stop at the gate to the Eden garden 
where a large number of equipages have already arrived be- 
fore us, compelling us to wait for our turn to drive up and 
get out of the carriage. The garden is now illuminated by 
thousands of gas and electric lights ; men, women and children 
walk forth and back on the soft grass plats; the military 
band plays well-known tunes ; Chinese, Parsees, Jews, Hin- 
doos and Arabs, in the most varied costumes, mingle wnth 
each other and with the Europeans. There are plenty of 



Story of an Ejugra.nt, 



181 



seats for such as wish to sit down and rest; but it is now 
time for exercise, and the\- walk in rows often or more untif 
the band winds up its pro^^ram for the evening by 
playing "God save the Quesii," In the midst of a general 




PARSEE FA:-IILY. 



hurry and confusion we hunt up our carringe which was to 
stop at a certain spot, and return to the crossroad from 
which the roads of Maidan as well as the streets in the city 
may be seen glimmering in the gaslight as far as the eye can 
reach. When we reach home it is just time to dress for din- 
ner, which generally begins at eight o'clock, lasting two or 
three hours. As to fashionable life, social ])leasure, display 
of dress and finery, etc., Calcutta excels every other place in 
the world. 



182 Story of an Emigk.wST. 

My exequatur not having arrived from London, I had to 
obtain a special recognition from the viceroy as American 
consul-general, after which my formal presentation took 
place. The Marquis of Ripon was viceroy during my stay in 
India. On presenting my credentials I had a lengthy conver- 
sation with him, and learned to admire him from that 
moment. From my memorandum book written on that day 
I quote the following: 

"Lord Ripon is a plain, manly man, whose character, head, and hearL 
would have made him a great man even if he had been born in obscurity, 
but now^ he ranks as one of the highest, and is one of the wealthiest of the 
English nobles, He said, among other things, to me: 'I like America and 
her people very much. I was there on a commission which tended to make 
America and England better friends, and all such efforts are well worthy 
all men (he referred to the Alabama treaty, in which as Earl de Gray he 
was one of the commissioners). With American and English ideas of liberty 
jt is hard to understand how to rule India. I would educate the natives.' 
said he, 'even if I believed that it would be dangerous to English power, be- 
cause it would be right to do so ; but I don't think it is dangerous. India has 
always had a few^ very able and highly-educated men, while the millions 
have been in utter ignorance and superstition, and such a condition is more 
dangerous to English rule than if all are raised in the scale of knowledge. 
My only object, and I think England's, in India, is to benefit India. Our 
schools and railroads are doing away with ignorance, and are fast destroy 
ing the caste system. Considering the natives as enemies, we must put on 
a bold front and fear no danger, but be always on the guard.' " 

Afterward I became intimately acquainted with this truly 
noble man, and was proud and happy to be counted by hin. 
as one of his very few friends in India who stood by him 
when the powerful Anglo-Indian bureaucracy' turned against 
him on account of his humane efforts to raise the natives 
socially and politically. Unfortunately for India, she has 
not had many British rulers like Lord Ripon, but most of 
them, in conjunction with the office-holding class, rule 
India, not for the good of India, but for their owm interests. 

Our British friends are certainlv entitled to credit for the 



Story of an Emigrant. 183 

audacious pluck which they showed w^hen a handful of their 
soldiers and citizens conquered that great country with its 
innumerable inhabitants. The only thing, however, that 
made it possible to do so, and which makes it possible to 
hold India to-day, is the internal strifes, the jealousies and the 
religious intolerance among the natives themselves. If they 
were united they could free the country from the foreigners 
in a month. But why should they? The country is better 
governed than ever before, and it is gaining fast in progress 
and prosperity. Still there is a deep hidden feeling of ill-will 
toward the English, and the time will yet come when a ter- 
rible struggle will be fought in India, Perhaps Russia will 
have a hand in the fight. It will be a bloody, savage war, 
and wiU cause Great Britain serious trouble. I said that 
India is better ruled now than ever before ; but that is not 
saying much, for it ought to be ruled still better and more 
in the interest of the natives. India has civil service with a 
vengeance, the office-holding class being even more arrogant* 
proud and independent than the titled nobility. They rule 
the country with an iron hand, regard it simply as a field 
for gathering in enormous salaries, and after twenty-five 
years' service they return to England with a grand India 
pension. The English look down upon the lower classes 
with haughty contempt, chiefly because the latter try to in- 
sinuate themselves into favor with the former by means 
of all kinds of flattery. Nobody is of any account in India 
unless he is an officer, either civil or military; hence all the 
best talent is circumscribed within narrow office routine 
limits, and nothing is left for the peaceful industrial pur- 
suits except what the government may undertake to do, and 
that is usually confined to railroad and canal improvements. 
England wants India for a market, therefore nothing is 
done to encourage manufactures, but rather to cripple them. 
With the cheapest and most skilled labor in the world, the 



184 Story of an Emigrant. 

natives of India are compelled to buy even the cotton gar- 
ments they w^ear from England though they raise the cotton 
themselves, and England is very careful not to establish a 
protective tariff in India. 



CHAPTER XYIII. 

An Indian Fete — The Prince of Burdwan — Indian Luxury — The Riches and 
Romantic Life of an Indian Prince — Poverty and Riches, 



I shall now invite my reader to accompany me to the city 
of Burdwan, which is situated about seventy miles north of 
Calcutta, for the purpose of attending an Indian fete to 
which I was invited shortly after my arrival at Calcutta. 
Burdwan is the name of an old principality (as well as of its 
capital) situated on the great Indian railway. The princi- 
pality of Burdwan is now under the English government, 
but it has its own maharajah, or prince, to whom the En- 
glish government grants certain rights over the people and 
property of this principality. The ruling prince during my 
stay in India was a young man of about twenty-two years. 
He had a good European education, spoke English well, and 
had, to a great extent, adopted European manners and 
customs. His name was Aftab Chand Muhtab Bahadur. 
In the beginning of December, 1881, he was installed as 
maharajah of Burdwan by Sir Ashley Eden, at w^hich time 
he came into actual possession of his inherited rights ; and 
this event was celebrated by great festivities in the palace 
and city of Burdwan. 

The fete which commenced December fifth and closed De- 
cember tenth was celebrated according to a well-chosen pro- 
gram for each day. About fifty English civil and military 
officers with their families were invited as guests to the 



186 Story of an Emigrant. 

palace. Some of them occupied rooms in the palace, others 
lived in tents pitched in military order in the palace garden, 
and about three hundred Indian guests were lodged in pri- 
vate houses in the city. I was the only foreign guest, and 
was assigned a neat pavilion, built partly over an artificial 
lake in the garden, and the second place of honor at all 
ceremonies — an honor which was, of course, due to the repub- 
lic w^hich I represented. 

The palace consisted of several large buildings two or three 
stories high, and several small pavilions, all in Italian style, 
situated in a park or garden of some forty acres, and sur- 
rounded by a stone wall twelve feet high, with two beautiful 
porticos. The largest building contained the private apart- 
ments of the prince, two large parlors, two dining halls, a 
ball room, a billiard room, a library, several picture galler- 
ies and a large armory, — all of them furnished in the most 
expensive and magnificent style. The floors and stairways 
were of Italian marble, and the walls of the large parlors 
adorned by huge mirrors set in frames inlaid w^ith emeralds, 
rubies, and other precious stones. Sculptures of marble 
from Italy, of porphyry and alabaster from Egypt, and 
porcelain vases from China, etc., adorned the corridors and 
niches of the halls of the main building. 

Another large building was inhabited by the women, 
among whom the mother of the prince is the mistress ; but 
they themselves, as well as the interior of their palace, re- 
main concealed from the gaze of the guests. Elegant car- 
riages with drivers, servants and grooms in oriental livery, 
caparisoned horses, saddles and bridles shining with gold and 
silver trimmings, were day and night at the disposition 
of the guests, and at his arrival every guest received a small 
blank book with fifty leaves on which to write his name and 
the kind of refreshment he wished, and hundreds of servants 
dressed in white were always ready to fetch it to him in 



Story of an Emigrant. 



187 



the palace garden, at the race courses, or in the summer 
houses. 

The festivities and merriments were arranged so that 
every guest had perfect hberty and sufficient time to follow 
his own taste. The following may serve as an illustration: 

On Wesdnesday, De- 
cember 7th, at half- 
past seven o'clock, a 
high school was in- 
spected, and the gov- 
ernor of Bengal distrib- 
uted prizes among the 
scholars; at ten break- 
fast in the large dining 
hall ; at twelve the in- 
stalment of the young 
prince; at tw^o lunch- 
eon; at three the 
opening of the races ; 
at hall-past seven il- 
lumination and py- 
rotechnics ; at eight 
grand dinner ; at ten a 
ball in the palace for the 
Ivuropeans; andnautch 
^ dancing and music by 

" -^--^~-' — - ^^ — -_^ ~ native women in a pa- 

NAUTCH DANCER. vilioH in the gardcxi . 

One day a canal was opened and dedicated. It was twenty 
nnles long, and built for the purpose of supplying several 
cities and country districts with an abundanci of water. 
All the streets and roads in and around Burdwan were in a 
splendid condition, wide and macadamized wi h crushed 
brick. From the railroad station to the palace and two 




188 



Story of an Emigrant. 



miles beyond to two villas, as well as along the principal 
streets in the citv, and along all paths and roads in the 
palace garden, bamboo poles forty feet long were erected on 
both sides, and about forty feet apart. These poles were all 
wrapped in red and white glazed paper, and had flags at the 
top. The poles were connected b}^ lines along which colored 
glass lamps were suspended six inches apart, and these were 
all lighied at six o'clock. I was told that there were over 
forty thousand such lamps, and that it took five hundred 

^^—-. .^f-^-:^ r?:^-=^^^ «^%^ 




COLLEGE BUILDING. 



men to fill, light, and attend to them. From nine to twelve 
o'clock ever}^ night an electric light was beaming from one 
of the palace towers, and Wednesday evening there was a 
magnificent display of pyrotechnics around an artificial lak? 
about a mile from the palace. The latter cost about twenty- 
five thousand dollars. Its effect on men, animals, and the 



Story of an Emigrant. 189 

tropical plants was such that a man from the North found 
it difficult to realize that he was still on this earth of ours, 
and not far awaj^ in the fairy world of fiction. 

ReaHty is so wonderful in India that I have hardly dared 
to tell the following without gradually preparing my reader 
for it. This young prince, whose guest I was and with 
whom I talked a good deal, is a poor foundling, having 
been adopted by the old prince, who died childless, and by 
the consent of the English government he was made his sole 
heir. His landed estates were so large that he paid two 
million two hundred thousand dollars to the English gov- 
ernment in annual taxes on theincome from his lands ! How 
large his total income is, nobody knows. Inside the palace 
walls, which were protected by a strong bod \^- guard night 
and day, were deep subterranean vaults wnth secret en- 
trances, where gold and jewels were concealed in such quan- 
tities as may be imagined only when it is remembered that 
during a period of three hundred years the family has been 
accustomed to accumulate these treasures by at least three 
"lacs rupees," or one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, a 
year. But during the same time millions upon millions 
of people have starved to death in the principality of Bur- 
dwan, and even now it is safe to say that nhie-tenths of the 
people who cultivate the soil and live on the estates of the 
maharajah and pay him tribute are so poor that they could 
scarcely sustain their life a single month in case of drought 
or inundations. 

To describe the whole fete would require a whole book, 
and I therefore select the installation ceremony, which, by 
the way, was the most important of the festivities. It took 
place in a small mango forest, about a mile from the palace. 
A pleasant country road, decorated with banners and 
spanned by triumphal arches covered with flowers, led to 
the place. A tent pavilion sixty feet long and forty feet wide 



190 Story of an Emigrant. 

was erected about a hundred yards from the road. The 
tent was supported by forty pillars covered with silver tinsel 
paper, and the canvas consisted of heavy linen woven in 
many-colored squares, which were about three feet each way. 
The sides of the tent were open, and between each of the 
outer pillars was stationed a Hindoo soldier dressed in 
shoes, gray stockings, black knee breeches, and a red coat, 
one half of which was embroidered with gold and silver, 
while the head was covered by a red turban richly adorned 
with gold ornaments. These soldiers were gigantic, dark 
figures, armed with curved sabres and long lances. They 
stood immovable as statues, and only the rolling of their 
flashing eye-balls showed that they were living men. At the 
upper end of the tent was an elevated platform with a gilt 
chair for the governor, and behind this, chairs for the 
European ladies. From the platform to the entrance at the 
opposite end was an aisle, on each side of which were four 
rows of chairs for the guests, all numbered and placed 
according to their rank. The aisle and the walk to the 
country road were covered with expensive Persian rugs, and 
chamberlains in dazzling costumes conducted the guests 
from the carriages to the seats assigned to them in the tent. 
The European officers were seated on the first row to the 
right, and the Hindoo princes and noblemen on the first row 
to the left, with the young maharajah next to the platform. 
The other chairs were occupied by Hindoo and Mohamme- 
dan zemindars (proprietors of landed estates), scholars, and 
dignitaries. 

A most splendid display of costumes in satin and velvet in 
all possible colors and fashions, all of them richly adorned 
with gold and silver trimming and embroideries, besides 
glittering necklaces and diamond rings, added brilliantly 
to the srene. All the natives kept their headdresses on. 



Story of an Emigrant. 191 

most of them wearing low turbans of colored or white silk, 
ornamented with gold, pearls and gems. 

Only the prince of Burdwan and the young prince of 
Kutch Behar w^ere armed, and these only with Damascus 
cimeters. The prince of Burdwan wore a purple satin gar- 
ment, red silk shoes and a high cap in the shape of a crown. 
His breast, neck, headdress and hands glittered with diamonds 
and rubies. Over this garment he wore a mantle of dark 
3^ellow cloth, which ^^as very artistically woven, and cost 
about ten thousand dollars. Most of the native nobles dis- 
tinguished themselves by a stately, military bearing, looking 
both handsome and intelligent. Some of them were very 
dark, but most had about the same complexion as the Span- 
iards. Jet black hair and black, flashing ej^es were universal, 
only a single one having dark red dair and beard. 

When all had been seated the governor, accompanied by 
two adjutants and several servants, arrived. A guard of 
honor, consisting of one hundred Sepoys, was stationed in 
front of the tent, and saluted the governor by presenting 
arms, during which the military band played an English 
national tune. Eight huge elephants were arranged in a 
row between the road and the tent ; these were covered by 
rich caparisons adorned with heavy gold and silver embroid. 
erics, and carryincr on their backs small pavilions in w^hich 
richly dressed drivers walked a few steps back and forth. 
At the door of the tent the governor was received by eight 
artistically uniformed aids -de -camp carrying marshal's 
staffs, silver horns, lances and perfumes. 

The act of installation was now in order, and was per- 
formed in the following manner: The maharajah stepped 
up before the governor and received from his hand a parch- 
ment roll, by which the queen conferred authority. Hav- 
ing read this in a loud and solemn voice, the governor 
hung a chain of diamonds and rubies around the neck of the 



192 Story of an Emigrant. 

prince, and made a short congratulatory address to him. 
The minister of finance brought a silver basin filled with 
Indian gold coins, which he handed to the governor as an 
emblem of tribute to the English government. The prince 
now resumed his seat, and two chamberlains brought gold 
vessels on silver trays containing attar of roses, and two 
others brought spices in similar receptacles. The attar of 
roses v^as sprinkled over the audience, and each one of the 
native guests received a small quantity of spices wrapped in 
a palm leaf. Finally the band struck up a march, and the 
whole retinue returned to the carriages by the road side and 
drove back to the palace. One of the carriages of the pro- 
cession was loaded with silver coins, which were thrown 
right and left to the thousands of poor and beggars, who 
crowded the road on both sides. In the evening, again, pro- 
visions and clothing were distributed to about fifteen thou- 
sand poor, who had flocked in from all parts of Burdwan, 
but who had not been allowed to enter the city. 



CHAPTEK XIX. 

Allahabad — Sacred Places — Kumbh Mela — Pilgrimages — Bathing in the 
Ganges — Fakirs and Penitents — Sacred Rites — Superstitions. 



Allahabad means the dwelling of God, and the Hindoos 
regard it as one of the most sacred places of India. It is a 
city of one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, and has 
a strong fortress with an English garrison. It is the seat of 
the government of the north-western provinces, and is situ- 
ated on a point of land between the rivers Ganges and 
Jumna, on the great Indian railroad, about five hundred 
and sixty-five miles from Calcutta, and about the same dis- 
tance from the Bay of Persia. 

In a tropical climate -where rain seldom falls during nine 
months of the year, it is quite natural that the people 
regard streams and rivers as their greatest benefactors, 
and by means of the vivid imagination of the South this sen- 
timent has occasionally been developed into religious 
worship and idolatry. In this manner the great Ganges, 
which flows nearly through the entire length of India, has, 
since time immemorial, been regarded as sacred, as have 
also all places where three rivers meet. At Allahabad the 
Jumna meets the sacred Ganges, thus affording two of the 
necessary conditions to make the place sacred, and it was 
easy for the fertile imagination of the Brahmins to create 
the third, which is said to consist in a spiritual current from 
above, pouring down continually at the point where the 



194 Story of an Emigrant. 

Jumna and the Ganges meet and mingle. It is claimed that 
this invisible river is very abundant, especially in the month 
of Magh, from the middle of January to the middle of Feb- 
ruary, but the most favorable period in this respect is under 
the astromical cycle Yuga, v^hich occurs every twelfth year 
in the month of Magh, and is called "Kumbh." This oc- 
curred in 1882, which was therefore a very important year 
for the Hindoos. 

To bathe in the Ganges alwa3'S means a spiritual purifica- 
tion, and to bathe there where the three rivers meet at Alla- 
habad in the month of Magh is a very sacred rite. Every 
good Hindoo endeavors, if possible, to bathe at this place at 
least once during his lifetime ; but to bathe there during the 
Kumbh Mela, or the twelfth year's cycle, is the most sacred 
act a Hindoo can perform, and such a bath is said to atone 
for the greatest sins both of the bather and his nearest rela- 
tives, be they living or dead. Out of the immense population 
of India, one hundred and ninety millions profess the above 
faith. Being a very religious people in their way, and testify- 
ing to their faith by their works, it is no great wonder that 
Allahabad in the course of four weeks was visited by nearly 
two million pilgrims, who came there- only for the purpose 
of bathing in the sacred river. Partly from curiosity and 
partly in order to obtain reliable information, I also made a 
short pilgrimage to this place. 

I said that nearly two million people visited Allahabad 
during the Kumbh Mela, which I attended. Thej-came from 
all parts of India, men and women, young and old, but es- 
pecially the old, of all classes from the beggar to the prince, 
of all castes from the despised coolie to the haughty Brah- 
min. They came on crowded railroad trains, or on elephants, 
camels, horses, asses, in ox-carts and in boats on the rivers, 
but most of them on foot along roads and pathways, across 
fields and meadows, the living ones carrying the ashes of 



Story of ak Emigrant. 



195 



the cremated bodies of their dead relatives to throw them 
in the holy river. Many of them had traveled great dis- 
tances and been on the journey for months. Old men who 
did not expect to return to their homes, but were in hopes of 
finding a grave in the sacred waters, and had said good-bye 




INDIAN CART. 



to everything which bound them to life ; cripples and inva- 
lids expecting to be cured on the banks of the Ganges, con- 
gregated in large numbers at this sacred place. Fanatical 
penitents came crawling on hands and feet; holy Fakirs had 
measured the way by the length of their own bodies for 
scores of miles. The penitent Fakir who travels in this 
manner lies down on the ground with his head toward the 
place of destination, makes a mark in the ground in front of 
his head, and crawls forw^ard the length of his body and lies 
down again with the feet where he had his head before; a 
new mark, another movement ahead, etc., and so he keeps 
on, one length of his body at a time, until he reaches the 



196 



Story of an Emigrant. 



holj' river. During this journe\'' the Fakir is surrotinJed and 
followed by a large concourse of people who furnish him 
with food and drink, and regard him as a saint. There are 
instances of men having traveled over five hundred miles in 
this manner. Every day and hour the crowd was increased 
by new arrivals, until the river banks, the fields and roads 
swarmed with countless masses, — a most wonderful gather- 
ing. Thousands of Brahmins offered their services to guide 




FAKIRS. 



and bless the pilgrims, most always for a valuable consid- 
eration; thousands of peddlers sold small idols, flower 
wreaths, rosaries, and other sacred objects at high prices ; 
others peddled rice, fruit, thin bread and other provisions, 
and thousands of barbers cut the hair and shaved the tem- 
ples of the pilgrims. There, in the shade of some mango trees 
a Hindoo prince had gone into camp with his elephants, 
horses, soldiers and servants, the retinue consisting of about 
two hundred people; and yonder in the shadeless valley 
is a camp of a thousand or more Fakirs huddled together. 
Many are entirely naked, others are protected by a few 



Story of an Emigrant. 197 

yards of dirty cotton cloth, most of them sprinkled with 
ashes or dry clay, their faces streaked in gray, red or yellow 
colors, and the hair done up in the shape of a chignon and 
held together with wet clay; but although presenting a pict- 
ure of dire want in their persons they have in the camp a 
large herd of costly elephants richly adorned with covers of 
satin and velvet embroideried in gold, silver, precious stones 
and gems, proving that their begging has not been in vain. 

On the river bank is the headquarters of the pilgrims from 
one of the Southern provinces, and over yonder that of those 
from the North or East. Everywhere is heard the noise of 
trading and bargaining, of greeting and ecstacy, of laughter 
and astonishment, and of the moaning and cries of the sick 
and suffering — indeed a regular pandemonium. 

The Februar}^ sun already shone scorchingly hot upon the 
low, shadeless valley, the thermometer rising to 90°. In the 
night, however, it was unusually cold for that country, and 
most of the pilgrims being poor and their clothing and food 
wretched, dangerous diseases began to break out among the 
weak and exhausted. Tlie terrible cholera claimed numerous 
victims every day, many died from weakness and negligence, 
others again perished through accidents on land and water, 
for nobody seemed to be very particular about human life, 
since death just there was considered so very desirable. 
Along the shores of the river flickered hundreds of fires, at 
w^hich the remains of the dead are burned to ashes and scat- 
tered into the river by the officiating Brahmins, to the in- 
finite edification of the relatives of the dead. 

The Hindoos are a very peaceful and loyal people, and 
willingly submit to order and discipline. Thus designated 
groups were conducted to the water at certain times and 
places, which was highly necessary, as otherwise the strong 
would have trampled down and crushed the weak. 

The first ceremony consists in shaving the head, or at 



198 Story of an Emigrant. 

least the front part of it ; the hair which is cut off ought to 
be offered to the Ganges, but the barber smuggles most of it 
out of the way, to be sold in more civilized countries. From 
the barber the pilgrim is turned over to the care of the Brah- 
min, who leads him down into the river, under the following 
ceremonies: The Brahmin repeats a Sanscrit formula 
which is called "Sankalpa," and which states that "the pil- 
grim N. N. on the day X. of the month Y., and in the year Z., 
takes his bath in the sacred water for the purpose and inten- 
tion of cleansing himself from all sins and frailties," after 
which the pilgrim immerses himself several times under the 
water and rinses his mouth with a handful of it, after a few 
minutes returning to the shore where he is at once sur- 
rounded by peddlers who offer him flowers, milk and lean 
cows or goats for sale at an exorbitant price. He always 
buys the flowers and the milk and offers them to the river, 
and, if he has sufficient money, he buys a cow or a goat and 
offers it to the Brahmin ; but if his means are too limited the 
latter must be content with the few coins the pilgrim can 
spare. Most of them, however, have brought a handsome 
offering to the Brahmin, because they regard the duty 
toward him just as important as the duty toward the river 
god. 

Then follows the "Shiadda" ceremony, consisting of an 
offering of cake, sugar, plums and dainties to the ghosts of 
their deceased relatives; next a banquet is spread before the 
Brahmins, the sacred places of the vicinity are visited, offer- 

ngs are made at most of these, and a present called "vi- 
dagi" is made to the Brahmin who has attended to the 
spiritual wants of the giver. 
And now the object of the long and arduous journey is 

accomplished, the pilgrimage, "tisthayatra," is successfully 
performed, and the cleansed sinner stands ready to begin a 
new record of sin. He has been plundered of his last penny, 



Story of an Emigrant. 199 

and, if he succeeds in reaching his distant home, his neigh- 
bors and friends will look up to him as an exceptionally 
happy being, and his own soul is filled with the hope of tem- 
poral and eternal bliss. 

Those who have reaped the pecuniary benefits of the 
pilgrimage are the Brahmins and Fakirs, the former through 
offerings and the latter through begging. They have filled 
their coffers and collected large herds of cattle, and now 
they can lead a gay and happy life until the next Mela, when 
they will again try to fan the dying embers of enthusiasm 
into a flame by sending emissaries all over India for the pur- 
pose of convincing the credulous populace that it is greatly 
to be feared that the Ganges will soon lose its powei of 
salvation, atid that therefore as many as possible ought to 
come next time, which may be the last chance. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Benares, the Holy City of the Hindoos — Its Temples and Worshipers — The 
Sacred Monkeys. 



Returning from Allahabad I Tisited Benares, the holy city 
of India and the centre of Hindooism or Brahminism, its 
religion, art and literature. It is situated on an elevation on 
the east bank of the Ganges about four hundred and seventy- 
six miles from Calcutta. Benares is to the Hindoos what 
Jerusalem was to the Jews, Rome to the medieval Chris- 
tians, and what Mecca is to the Mohammedans, and it is 
visited by thousands of pilgrims and penitents every year. 
The learned men or Pundits of India have their academies 
and gatherings there, and many of its princes and nobles 
have their costly palaces in which they usually spend a few 
weeks every year. 

The whole city seems abandoned to sacrificing priests 
and idolatry in its most disgusting forms. There are one 
thousand lour hundred temples for idols, and nearly three 
hundred mosques, besides hundred of shrines, holy graves, 
wells, ttees and other objects of Hindoo worship. Benares 
IS a very old city ; great and renowned when Babylon and 
Nineveh were competing with each other ; when Tyre sent 
out her colonists; when Athens was in her infancy; before 
Rome existed, and long before Nebuchadnezzar had carried 
the Israelites into captivity. 

"We are accustomed to look at hoary ruins with reverent 

200 



Story of an Emigrant. 



201 



interest, and it is no wonder that the first sight of the his- 
torical monuments of Benares made a profound impression 
on my mind. I felt almost as if transported to a time far 
back in the misty past, and found it difficult to realize that I 




HINDOO TEMPLES. 



walked the same streets, lanes and market places where the 
Babylonian heralds of war and the ambassadors of Alex- 
ander the Great were received by the same people whose 



202 Story of an Emigrant. 

descendants still inhabit the same city, and have retained 
the same civilization and the same institutions through all the 
intervening centuries. 

The sun cast its last rays over the memorable city when I 
had the pleasure of seeing it for the first time. At a distance 
of two miles I could see the palaces and temples with their 
domes, cupolas, and minarets merged into a confused mass, 
and on the summit of the hill towered the renowned mosque 
of Kmperor Arungzebes with two minarets, the spires of 
which rise two hundred and fifty feet above the level of the 
Ganges. It was a beautiful oriental picture, the most beau- 
tiful I had yet seen. 

The next morning at sunrise a Mohammedan dragoman 
or interpreter took me down the river in a boat, and in the 
course of an hour we passed, according to the estimate 
of the interpreter, over twenty thousand bathing Hindoos. 
Every two miles are built ghats, or broad flights of steps 
down to river, some of these being eight}' feet high. Along 
the edge of the water Brahmins are squatting about twenty 
feet apart under large sun shades made of palm leaves in the 
form of an umbrella. These Brahmins have a certain 
inherited right to these little spots where they have thus 
raised their sun shades for the purpose of collecting an offer- 
ing from every bather. Men and women bathe side by s'de. 
They all go into the water in their thin cotton suits, and 
everything is conducted with order and decorum. 

After the bath flowers are offered to the river, and oils and 
fruits to the Brahmin. 

A short distance above the edge of the water is an open 
place for the cremation of the bodies of the dead, and on the 
river close by are scores of boats and barges loaded with 
wood which is cut into small sticks anl is used for the fu- 
neral-pyres. We stopped a few minutes here while three 
corpses were brought on biers. They were covered by a 



Story of an Emigrant. 203 

white cloth with a red dye-stuff scattered over the chest. 
The body was first immersed in the river and then placed on 
its pyre, which was kindled by the nearest relative of the de- 
ceased. After the cremation the ashes were scattered on the 
river by the Brahmin, who, of course, charged a round sum 
for these highly important services. 

We next went up the high steps and visited several temples 
and other objects of interest of which I shall give a brief 
description. 

The Hindoo temples are not so large as our churches, but 
only from fifteen to forty feet square, and their style of archi- 
tecture is frequently very pleasing to the eye. They contain 
no seats or pulpits, and the ceremonies consist exclusively of 
offerings, prayers, and signs. People come and go inces- 
santly, there is no silence or devotion, but all is noise and 
turmoil. The Brahmins glide quietly around everywhere 
and watch closely so that no one escapes until he or she has 
parted with as much loose change as possible, and it fre- 
quently happens that the Brahmin and the w^orshiper get 
into a loud quarrel about the fee which iTie latter is to pay 
for the benediction. 

We ascended an eight -foot -wide street paved with large 
flag stones, which were crow^ded with endless rows of peo- 
ple coming out or going into the temples on either side. To 
some of these a few steps led downward, to others up- 
w^ard. 

In some of the nooks and niches formed by the outer walls 
of the temple sat peddlers selling ornaments, flowers, fruit, 
boiled rice, popcorn, confectioneries, and small idols, of 
stone, porcelain, or metal. 

We stepped into the so-called golden temple, dedicated to 
Bishashar, or Shiva, the most prominent deity of Benares. 
Like most of the temples it is built of brick, and has a gray 
coat of plastering on the outside. It has three domes which 



204 



Story of an Emigrant. 



are covered with colored metal, and the interior is divided 
into three rooms, in each of which is a stone image rep- 
resenting the creative 
principle. The worship- 
ersthrow rice and flowers 
at these images, and oih- 
ciating Brahmins contin- 
ually pour over them 
water from the Ganges. 
"Within a separate inclos- 
ure is a sdcred well called 
"Gyan-Bapi," or the well 
of knowledge, into which 
the rice and the flowers 
from the images are 
washed by a continual 
stream of water. Out of 
this well rises an intoler- 
able stench from the pu- 
trefj'ing mass which poi- 
sons the air in and around 
the temple, for it is not permitted to take these offerings 
out of the wtll. Around the well is a colonnade of small 
beautiful pillars, back of which, on the east side, is a seven- 
foot-high stone statue of a bull consecrated to the god of 
Mahadeva. 

Another temple is divided into stalls which contain well- 
fed sacred animals, such as bulls, cows, goats and birds, all 
of which are objects of worship of the faithful. This temple 
was kept more clean thanthe former, but the bellowing of the 
animals and the jostling and crowding of the worshipers 
made the visit to those deities intolerable. 

One of the finest temples in Benares is called "Durga 
Kund," and is cevoted to the goddess Durga. It is a large 




DYING UKAIIMIN. 



Story of an Emigrant.' 



205 



and beautiful pyraniiflal structure with a number of towers 
and steeples of different sizes, and the whole building is 
adorned with fine works of sculpture, representing the sacred 
animals of Hindoo mythology. Inside the temple, facing a 
wide entrance, stands a large stone statue of Durgawith the 
face of an ape, and in front of this is a well into which the 
faithful throw flowers. But the most interesting- feature 
about this temple is the great number of monkeys which are 




MONKEY TEMPLE IN BENARES. 

kept there. A large, square court surrounds the temple, 
and in this as well as on the steps, floors, pillars, roof and 
walls, inside and outside of the temple itself and in the 
neighboring houses, in the trees, on the streets, in the gar- 
dens, in short, wherever they can find a footing, there are 
thousands of gray, yellow, black, white and brown monkeys, 
with all possible monkey physiognomies and monkey nat- 
ures, sitting, lying, jumping, hanging and climbing. They 
are considered sacred and must not be killed, consequently 
they are increasing so fast that if no interdicts are fulmi- 



206 Story of an Emigrant. 

nated ag-ainst them they will soon become the ruling element 
in Benares, And so assiduously is this temple visited bv 
well-to-do and generous worshipers that both the Brah- 
mins and the monkeys live in affluence and luxury. Incredi- 
ble as it may seem, I have myself seen one crowd of people 
after another enter this temple and prostrate themselves in 
worshiping the living monkeys as well as the ape-faced stone 
image, and then return home rejoicing because the Brahmins 
have assured them that their worship and ofFerinsg have 
opened for them the gates of heaven. 

In some temples domestic animals are sacrificed by the ser- 
vants of the priests, the blood and the meat being distributed 
among the priests, the intestines and other ofifal among the 
poor. In others, butter, oils, sweetmeats and rice are 
offered by first giving the idols a taste in the same manner 
as our children feed their dolls, whereupon the rest is con- 
sumed by the priests and the people. In several temples are 
Fakirs or saints sitting in unnatural positions with lean 
limbs and vacant looks, and these are also objects of the 
worship and offerings of the people. In other temples are 
even lewd women, who, by their dancing and singing, act as 
mediators between the people and their angry gods. 

As far as these descriptions go, they may be applied to all 
temples and ceremonies, and the chief and absolute univer- 
sal feature is the question of money and other offerings to 
the Brahmins. All the temples are surrounded wath beggars 
who are as importunate as the Brahmins themselves, and 
the whole of it makes the European wish to get away from 
the sacred places of the Orient as soon as possible. 

Man Alodir, is the name of a remarkable astronomical ob- 
servatory which towers above the temples on the Ganges, 
close to the place where the dead bodies are cremated. It 
was built two hundred years ago by the emperor, Jai Sing, 
and still remains in well-preserved condition as an evidence 



Story of an Emigrant. 207 

of the deep astronomical knowledge of the Hindoos at that 
period. It is a large stone building with a flat roof, on 
which are constructed astronomical instruments and figures 
of brick and mortar of gigantic proportions. As examples. 
I shall mention a quadrant which is eleven feet high and 
nine feet wide in the direction of the meridian, and is made 
for calculating the altitude of the sun, and another instru- 
ment, thirty-six feet long and four and one-half feet high 
which is used in calculating the altitude and distance of a 
planet or a star from the meridian. 

Descending from the observatory my attention was called 
to a large crowd of people on a knoll near the river bank. 
Going over there I found what might be called a religious 
circus attended by thousands of people, in the midst of which 
was a group of Fakirs. Most of them were squatting with 
crossed legs, one arm extended toward the river, and the 
eyes fixed on a certain spot in the water or on the sky. One 
was squatting on a plank through which long sharp naii r. 
were driven with their points projecting upward over r.u 
mch. I counted eight such nails about an inch longundn' 
each foot. The nails had not caused bleeding wounds, bii^ 
simply made deep indentures in the flesh which must hav"; 
been very painful, at least in the beginniag. One Fakir had 
suspended himself on an eight-foot-tall cross, with the head 
downward, by tieing one of his feet to the top of the crof^c 
by a cord. Formerly they used to suspend themselves bv a 
big iron hook penetrating their muscles, thus swinging their 
bodies back and forth for hours; but this practice is now 
prohibited by the English government. An acrobatic Fakir 
was turning sommersets on a grass mat, and was considered 
very holy because he could twist his limbs as if they had 
been without bones. Another carried an iron cage which 
was forged around his neck, and which he had carried thus 
for years in order to mortify his flesh. A loathsome dwarf, 



208 



Story of an Em.grant. 



kept in an iron cage, was blessing tlie admiring crowd, sev- 
eral dancing girls gave animation to the scene by singing 




FAKIR WITH IRON CAGE. 

and dancing, some Brahmins were exhibiting a sacred bull, 
others sacred monkeys, and liberal offerings were made 
everywhere by the enraptured pilgrims. Such are the relig- 
ious ceremonies in the sacred city of India. 
During my stay in Benares I visited one of the most re 



Story of an Emigrant. 



209 



markable ruins in the world, situated six miles from the sa- 
cred citv It is the remnants of two large and tall towers 
built of brick and cut stone, about three thousand years 
ago. These towers were closely connected with the history 
of Buddha, one of them, according to tradition, being his 
dwelling and the other his place of worship. This was 
formerly the site of a great city, called Sarnath. 




TOWER OF SARNATH. 



14 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Nimtoolaghat — Cremation in India — Parsee Funeral Rites. 



India is the only country in the world where the civilization 
of the East and that of the West are found side by side with 
equal rights and equal chances of a free and full develop- 
ment. For, although the English have conquered, and 
at present rule the country, they have respected the peculiar 
customs and manners of the Hindoos, and guaranteed them 
liberty to practice the same and to develop their social and 
rehgious institutions in so far as they do not conflict with 
the generally acknoweldged principles of humanity. 

Accordingly in Calcutta and other cities in India we fre- 
quently find a stately Christian church side by side with a 
Hindoo temple with its officiating priests. On one side 
of the street we may see a fine European residence filled with 
guests around the dinner-table, eating, chatting, and toast- 
ing just as at home, and on the other a Hindoo villa, where 
turbaned Brahmins, in a squatting posture, eat their rice or 
smoke their hokah, while extolling the merits of their jug- 
gernaut. At popular meetings and fetes European lords, 
bishops, officials, and ladies are often seen engaged in a 
friendly conversation with Hindoo princes, or learned pun- 
dits, Mohammedan warriors, Persian, Armenian or Jewish 
merchants. On the streets and promenades the European 
carriage and the Hindoo palanquin are seen side by side; in 
Calcutta there are scores of his^h schools and academies on 



Story of an Emigrant. 



Ill 



the European plan, and close to tliese ao^ain others where 
young students in oriental costumes and turbaned heads, 
squat before a half-naked Brahmin, seeking wisdom and 
knowledge from the works of the Vedas or Shastras. 

It is therefore not surprising that in the very harbor 
where American and European flags are waving from 
hundreds of mast-heads lies Nimtoolaghat, a Hindoo place of 
cremation, from which the whole day long dense clouds 




NIMTOOLAGHAT — PLACE OF CREMATION. 



of smoke arise, scattering the vapors of burning human 
bodies. It is a large brick building which is divided into two 
apartments by a brick wall. The apartment which is next 
to the street is covered by a roof, but the one next to the 
harbor is open at the top. The floor is made of clay, 
excepting the spots under the funeral pyres, where it consists 
of large flagstones. I have often stood at this place, and it 
alwavs seemed to me that our cemeteries with their monu- 



212 Story of an Emigrant. 

ments, grass plots, trees, and flowers are dear places which, 
to some extent, reconcile man to stern death, while here 
everything seemed dead and hopeless. I will describe for the 
reader what I saw at one of my visits to this place of deso- 
lation. On the flagstones in the roofless apartment were six 
separate pyres, two of which "were alread}' reduced to ashes 
when I entered, two others were about half consumed by the 
fire, only a few bones being visible among the fire-brands; 
but on each of the other two was a naked corpse, the out- 
side of which was scorched by the flames, while blood and 
water were slowly oozing out of mouth and nostrils, while 
the burning flesh hissed and sputtered where the heat was 
most intense, so that the whole presented a shocking sight. 
A score of half-naked Brahmins were busy around the 
pyres muttering prayers and making signs over the dead, 
while the nearest relatives walked around the corpses utter- 
ing cries of lamentation. ParticularW violent was the grief 
of a young woman w'hose mother had just been laid upon 
the pyre, deep sorrow and heart-rending lamentations 
testifying to the love she had borne the deceased. 

Now the fine-split wood is piled up into a new pyre about 
six feet long, two feet wide, and two and one-half feet high, 
and four men bring the corpse of a man on a bier. It is cov- 
ered with a white sheet, which is taken away, so as to leave 
only a small piece of cloth covering the corpse. This is the 
body of a Fakir, a stately man with fine features, and past 
the prime of life. As soon as the body is placed on the pyre, 
two Brahmins pile fine-split wood around and over it so 
that only the face is visible. Then comes the eldest son of 
the deceased and rubbing the face with fresh butter lays 
several lumps of it on the pyre. He then walks three times 
around the corpse and lights with a fire-brand a whisk of 
straw in his father's pyre. The fire spreads rapidly through 



Stoky' of an Emigrant. 213 

the dry wood. The melting butter flows through It, the 
flames roar and crackle, and the dead bod}^ makes writhing 
muscular motions under the influence of the Are, the skin 
burstiiig open in several places, and a thin fluid trickling out . 
which adds fuel to the flames. The face shrinks and vanishes 
under our ej-es, an unpleasant smell of burnt flesh per- 
meates the air, ai d in a little while all is over, and the Brah- 
mins gather the ashes and scatter them on the waters of the 
sacred Ganges. 

Who can wonder that a stranger, witnessing such a cere- 
mony, experiences in his ow^n breast questions and surmises 
such as these: Is this, then, all? Where Is the Fakir who 
mortified his body by all kinds of torture, who struggled 
and sufiered in order to become acceptable to the gods? 
Was there nothing more than that shell, consumed before our 
eyes? Is the man who spent half of his life-time gazing in- 
to the boundless realm of space and yearning and longing 
for the unknown, the infinite, no longer in existence? Was 
his longing only a mocker^', or was it a foreshadowing of 
that which is to come? What would life be if all terminated 
in the pyre or in the grave? To what purpose, then, all no- 
ble endeavors, whose aim and object only relate to the un- 
certain future? The deepest premonitions of the human 
soul, and the most beautiful hopes of the heart, how far are 
these from the thought that all our feelings, our loftiest am- 
bitions, — in one word the best part of our being, — can be 
anniiiilated in a crematory! The Fakir whose body was 
now reduced to ashes had lived In the faith of his immor- 
tality, had worshiped the deities of his people, because he 
knew no better, but was he on that account less welcome in 
the everlasting mansions? 

Formerly the wife was burned alive on the pyre of her 
husband, but this practice has been abolished by the English 



214 Story of an Emigrant. 

government, although it is still said to be adhered to secretly 
in the interior of the country. That w^oman is considered 
very fortunate who can enjoy the privilege of "sati," that 
is, be burned alive on the funeral pyre of her husband, for 
thereby she secures unquestionable happiness in the next 
world. So strongly can religious enthusiasm, even in our 
days, influence a sensible and civilized people. We generally 
suppose cremation in India to be an imposing ceremony, 
such as a great pyre, intense heat, which keeps a devout 
congregation at a proper distance, etc. Such is not the case, 
however ; for, leaving out the mourning relatives, it may 
better be compared with the hilarious soldiers around the 
camp-fire roasting the booty of a nightly raid, — a shote or 
a quarter of beef. 

An entirely different mode of burial is used among the 
Parsees, who are descendants of the ancient Persians, and 
live in the western part of India where they were driven from 
Iran by the Mohammedans. They profess the religion of 
Zoroaster, and are fire-worshipers. They regard the earth, 
air, water and fire as sacred objects, but a corpse, on the con- 
trary, as something unclean, and therefore they would not 
pollute the fire by burning the dead, nor soil the earth or the 
sea by burying them. In place of this the}' expose the dead 
bodies in the open air to be devoured by birds of prey. For 
this purpose are erected towers of stone, on the top of 
which are iron grates to put the bodies on. In one of the 
surburbs of Bombay are three such towers on Malabar hill. 
They are called "The Towers of Silence." Each of them 
has only one entrance, and they are about twenty feet high. 
Large flocks of ravens and vultures surround them sitting 
on branches of the palm trees in the vicinity. As soon as a 
corpse is exposed there is a fierce rush for it, and within an 
hour the birds have consumed everything except, of course, 



Story of an Emigrant. 215 

the bones, whicli drop down Into a vault under the tower, 
or are thrown there by means of tongs held by gloved serv- 
ants, who afterward clean themselves by bathing and 
change of clothing. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

I 

Heathenism and Christianity — The Religion of the Hindoos — Caste — The 
Brahmins — Their Tyrannj- — Superstition — The Influence of Chris 
tianity — Keshub-Chunder-Sen, the Indian Reformer — His faith and In- 
fluence. 



Having given a sketch of the divine worship, religious 
rites and sacrificial ieasts of the Hindoos, I shall now call 
the attention of the reader to a brief description of their 
religion and spiritual culture in general. 

"In the hoary past India had mighty religious leaders and 
authors who laid claim to divine authorit\'. Religious sys- 
tems were announced, and voluminous, erudite verses were 
published for the guidance of the people, or rather the Brah- 
mins or priests, which writings are still the Bibles of the 
Hindoos. The most important of these books are called 
'Vedas,' 'Shastras,' and 'Puranas.' The lively imagi- 
nation of the authors and the religious enthusiasm of the 
people were not content with a few deities, therefore their 
number has been increased from time to time, until they now 
amount to thirty -three million gods and goddesses. The 
most important of the former are Brahma, Visnu and Shiva, 
and of the latter Diirga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. The 
former are worshiped as the creating, preserving and de- 
stroying powers, and from these three all the others have 
originated; at first considered as representatives of certain 
attributes and principals of the three chief deities, but later 

216 



Story of an Emigrant. 217 

as independent, individual deities. Many of these gods are 
represented by images and pictures, which originall}^ the 
whole people, but at present only the learned, regard merely 
as representations of certain divine principals and attributes. 
Later on these were put in the place of the things which 
they represented, so that the stone image, the river, the 
tree, or the animal is regarded as the god himself by the ig- 
norant multitude. 

"According to the Hindoo doctrine of creation the earth 
rests on the back of a tortoise, and the human race was origi- 
nally created members of four different classes or castes. 
Thus the class or caste distinction of India is closely incor- 
porated with its religion, and shows that the priests have 
been very shrewd in founding a religious system which se- 
cured for themselves not only salvation after death, but, 
above all, an abundance of the good things of this world. 
Brahm.a was from the beginning, and from him emanated 
Vishnu and Shiva. Thereafter Brahma created first water, 
then the earth, then from out of his head a man w^ho was 
the Brahmin, and became the chief of the caste of priests, or 
the highest class. After this he let a Kshatriya issue from 
out of his arms, a Vaisya from his loins, and a Sudra from 
his feet, and which became respectively the progenitors of 
the three other castes, the warriors, the craftsmen and 
merchants, and the common laborers. These castes have 
gradually been divided into many subdivisions, but the four 
principal ones still remain with all their rigid distinctions. 
Through certain misdemeanors, which may be very insig- 
nificant, a person belonging to a higher may be degraged to 
a lower caste, but one of a lower caste can never rise to 
a higher, not even by the most meritorious achievements. 

"Of all the cruel chains by which tyrants have fettered men, 
none has been a more formidable enemy of liberty or a 
greater impediment to human progress than this dreadful 



218 Story of an Emigrant. 

system of caste. It has stifled all noble efforts, all brotherly 
love and humane feelings; it has plunged the people into 
superstition, indifference and ignorance; it has doomed 
ninety -nine hundredths of the myriads of India to the most 
cruel slavery, in body and in soul ; it has placed locks and 
fetters on the human mind and branded the infant in its 
mother's womb to infamy and execration ; and, the worst of 
all, it has stifled all incentive to progress and development. 
It has smothered many noble feelings, and taught men to 
hate and despise each other; and so strong is the class dis- 
tinction of this system that a good Hindoo of our day 
would a thousand times rather die of thirst or hunger than 
take a glass of water or a piece of bread from a person of a 
lower caste. Like other evils it has also been a curse to its 
authors, the Brahmins themselves, by lulling the great majori- 
ty of them into ignorance and indifference. For why should 
they take the trouble to study or work when the whole 
world with its joys, pleasures and honors is open to them 
anyway ? Space does not allow discussing this matter more 
fully, hence I will simply cite some of the doctrines which 
the Brahmins claim to have found in the divine books, and 
which the people still regard as sacred : 

" Whoever disturbs a Brahmin during his religious contem- 
plations shall lose his life; if a person of a lower caste 
sits down on the mat of a Brahmin, his back shall be burned 
with red-hot irons; if he touches the hair, beard or neck of 
a Brahmin, the judge shall order both his hands to be cut 
off; if he listens to evil reports about the Brahmins, molten 
lead shall be poured into his ears ; if he does not arise when 
a Brahmin approaches, he will be changed into a tree after 
death ; if he casts an angry look at a Brahmin the god Yama 
shall pluck out his eyes. The Shastras teach that a gift to a 
Brahmin is of incalculable value to the giver. Whoever gives 
a Brahmin a cow shall train a million vears of bli<^s i-n 



Story of an Emigrant. 219 

heaven, and whoever wishes success in anything must f^te 
the Brahmins and wash their feet. Whoever bequeathes land 
or other valuable pr<);)crtj to the Brahmins on his death-bed 
immediately receives forgiveness of sins and the greatest 
bliss in heaven. To drink the water in which a Brahmin 
has washed his feet and to lick the dust from under a Brah- 
min's feet are works of great merit for the life which is to 
come. No one bat a Brahmin is allowed to give religious 
instruction, and all offerings to the gods must be brought to 
the Brahmin, because no ceremony will avail anything un- 
less it is accompanied by an offering to them. Therefore a 
multitude of ceremonies have been introduced by the Brah- 
mins in order that their coffers may be well filled. I will 
name a few of those ceremonies which relate to everybody's 
life and death, and which cannot, therefore, be neglected. 

As soon as a mother knows she has conceived, a Brahmin 
must be sent for to read certain formulas ; when the child is 
born a Brahmin must be called for the same purpose, also 
when it is a week, six months, two years and eight years 
old, and again when the young people are to be married; in 
all cases of sickness, at the death-bed, at the cremation of 
the body, and every month the first year after a person's 
death; and at each one of these visits the Brahmin is entitled 
to money or other gifts. Also if a family is subject to any 
misfortune the Brahmin must be called to conjure the evil 
powers ; if a bird of prey alights on the roof, the owner of 
the house must call a Brahmin to purify the house by his 
blessing; when he moves into a new house the Brahmin must 
bless it beforehand ; when a man dies on an unlucky day his 
son must pay the Brahmin money to ward off a similar ca- 
Limity from him ; when a well is dug a Brahmin must bless 
it before its water can be used ; during eclipses of the sun 
and the moon everybody sends gifts to the Brahmins; at 
overv chancre of the moon the Brahmin is entitled to srifts as 



220 Story of an Emigrant, 

well as on forty regular holidays every year; during small- 
pox or cholera ravages he is called to ward off the plague; 
the farmer cannot reap his grain, the fisherman cannot goto 
sea, the merchant cannot make a bargain unless he has 
bought the blessing of the Brahmin and paid for the same. 

"And still the Hindoos possess a high culture, and their civi- 
lization is one of the oldest in the world. They are endowed 
with a strong religious feeling. They are profound, peace- 
ful, diligent, economical and law abiding; many of them 
have become distinguished in learning, art and science ; they 
have been the teachers of the philosophers and scholars of 
other nations, and for thousands of years they have pon- 
dered deeply on questions pertaining to the human soul, im- 
mortality and the life to come, and endeavored to satisfy 
their craving and yearning for a closer union v^'ith the infi- 
nite by a devotion emd self sacrifices which can well be com- 
pared ^^nth. the sufferings of the Christian martyrs. Accord- 
ingly if any people could attain a higher development and a 
happy condition by other means than the influence of the 
Christian religion, that people ought to be the Hindoos. 
Yet, after all their struggles, we now find them on a lower 
level than they w^ere thousands of years ago. What a pic- 
ture ! All these millions of civilized, peaceful, diligent, sensi- 
ble people bend their knees before thirty-three millions of dis- 
gusting images and pictures, and among all this people, in 
all their thirty thousand cities there was not a hospital for 
the sick, not an asylum for the blind or deaf, not a home for 
lepers or insane, not one voice saying to the lowly and the 
poor : ** Thou art my brother." 

Then came Buddha, the great reformer, preaching the re- 
ligion of self denial and human love. The old petrified social 
fabric and religion were shaken to their foundation, and the 
system of caste was on the verge of dissolution. Under the 
first wave of enthusiasm caused by the teachings of Buddha, 



Story of an Emigrant. 221 

hospitals for the sick and asj'lums for the poor were es- 
tablished. Every fifth year the Buddhistic kings gave away 
their riches, not only to the monks but also to the poor, 
to the orphans and outcasts, and even asylums for sick an- 
imals were established. But Brahminism soon avenged it- 
self by bloody wars, Buddhism was to a large extent 
driven out of India, and gradually its noble principles were 
forgotten. Nearly the same condition as that which pre- 
vailed before the Buddhistic reformation again prevailed, 
until the Christian civilization quite recently began to make 
itself felt through the practical measures introduced by the 
English government. Woman without liberty, without hu- 
man worth, and almost without virtue; the countless many 
oppressed and despised by the privileged few, and not even 
allowed to read a religious book at the risk of eternal dam- 
nation ; one of the greatest and mightiest nations on earth, 
discordant within itself, divided into different hostile classes; 
the one suspicious, envious, and full of hate toward the 
other, all of them humiliated, conquered, and ruled by a 
few strangers, — the English, — w^hose forefathers were sav- 
ages a thousand years after the period when the Hindoos 
possessed the highest civilization of antiquity. 

The cause of this deplorable condition is clear enough to 
those who have grown up under the influence of Christian 
civilization. With all its studies, all its wisdom, all its gen- 
ius, and all its religious contemplation, this people have neg. 
lected or spurned the simple truths on w^hich the Christian 
civilization is founded, — love and charity : "Thou shalt love 
thy neighbor as thyself" — "Inasmuch as ye have done it 
unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it 
unto me," — these beautiful principles are not found in the 
Hindoo Bibles, and, consequently, not in their acts and 
lives. 

But a happier day has dawned on India. The star of 



223 



Story of an Emigrant. 



Bethlehem is seen at the horizon. Anew light is kindled 
which shall soon lead the people out of the ancient dark- 
ness to a true and happy condition. And, strange enough, 
the youngest of the nations, — America, — is foremost in mis- 
sionary work among the oldest, and next to the Americans 
are the Scotch, the English, the French, the Germans, the 
Belgians ; and even good old Sweden has one or two mis- 
sion fields there where the results are as yet rather meager; 
but in the course of time this work, too, will undoubtedly 
bear golden fruits, for just as surely as people and races are 
to continue, just as surely shall the simple doctrine which the 

'2:reat Master taught be 
spread and accepted 
among them all, because 
it is the only one by 
which the nations can 
reach their true destiny. 
A remarkable attempt 
at reformation in the 
spirit of Christianity has 
^ been made in our day by 
a native Hindoo, the late 
Keshub-Chunder-Sen, the 
founder of the society, 
Brahmo Somaj in Cal- 
cutta, whose object was 
to introduce the Christian 
civilization in all its bet- 
ter forms. One day I 
went to hear a lecture bj'' 
this renowned Hindoo 
KESHUB-CHUNDER-SEN. prophct and teacher, 

which afforded me one of the most pleasant and instructive 
hours in my life. The great hall contained an audience o^ 




Story of an Emigrant. 223 

nearly three thousand people, consisting chiefly of persons 
of influence and high rank, among the cultured Hindoos of 
the capital. The speaker was listened to with the greatest at- 
tention and respect, and the impression he made could not 
but be beneficial and lasting. I sat very close to the speaker, 
and took pains to notice his ways and manners while speak- 
ing to the large audience. His bearing in the pulpit made a 
remarkable impression, especially when, under the influence 
of some absorbing and transporting thought, his body was 
stretched out to its full height, and seemed to grow by the 
glow of inspiration. He was at that time a man of about 
forty-five years of age, of robust health, of symmetrical pro- 
portions, and with a face which beamed with intelligence 
and enthusiasm. The fame of this man is not limited to his 
native land, for even in Great Britain, where he spent several 
months a few years ago, he is very highly respected by think- 
ing men and women of all classes who are devoted to the 
progress and improvement of mankind, and in his own 
country he is almost idolized. His faith, as far as formu- 
lated in definite language, coincides with that of the Unitari- 
ans of America, although he called it unitrinitarian, /. e., he 
believed in one God, the Creator of the world and the father 
of all men ; and also in Christ and the Holy Spirit as revela- 
tions of the divine, which is one but not as three different 
persons in the deity. He believed that the propagation of 
true religion in the world has been greath' impeded by 
what he called the idolatry which in Christian countries 
has grown up around the human person of Jesus Christ, 
manifested as in the flesh, and he begged the missionaries 
who came to India not to confuse the minds of the Hin- 
doos by any such idea as a deity consisting of three different 
persons ; polytheism had been the curse of India from time 
immemorial. 
Such are the main features of the teaching of this reformer 



224 



Story of an Emigrant. 



which seem to promise a better time for the oppressed peo- 
ple of India. Later I became more intimately acquainted 
with him, and he had intended to visit America in my com- 
pany, but w^as taken sick shortly before I left India, and died 
a couple of months thereafter. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

Steamboating On tlie Ganges— Life on the River — The Greatest Business 
Firm in the World — Sceneries — Temples — Serampoor — Boat Races — An 
Excursion to the Himalayas — Darjieling and Himalaya Railroad — 
Tea Plantations— Darjieling — Llamas — View from the Mountains. 



Having received all its tributaries on its course from the 
Himalaya Mountains through Central Hindustan, the Gan- 
ges has now swelled to such vast proportions that it can- 
not keep its volume of water within one regular channel 
through the level, soft soil of the Hindoo Peninsula, but 
flows into the ocean by several independent channels. One 
of these which is called the Hoogley, and has been men- 
tioned already, is at Calcutta, about eighty miles from the 
sea, as broad as the united Missouri and Mississippi at St. 
Louis, and still the eastern half of it, close to the city, is so 
crowded with ships, barges and boats for a distance of six 
miles that it requires great care and skill at the helm to 
navigate safely. 

On Jan. 2, 1882, the Calcutta rowing club had arranged 
a race between Barrackpoor and Serampoor, to which four 
hundred guests, including myself had been invited. Two 
large and ten smaller river steamers, all adorned with flow- 
ers and waving flags, lay around the pier between the Hoog- 
ley and the Nimtoolaghat waiting for us. Other steamers 
packed with natives, and Indian river boats with their 
half-naked rowers, crowded around the little flotilla, partly 



2:;6 Story of an Emigrant. 

from curiosity, partly in order to sell flowers, garlands and 
fruits to the guests. On the river bank were thousands of 
Hindoos and Mohammedans sitting or standing, in white 
clothes. Here and there was a penitent Fakir, bareheaded, 
nis half-naked body partly covered with ashes, his eyes riv- 
eted on a point at the horizon or on the water, without be- 
ing in the least disturbed by the noise and the festivity. 
From Nimtoolagiat a dozen small clouds of smoke were 
seen ascending uniting into one column of smoke, above the 
roofless building. A number of unkempt, half-naked Brah- 
mins were carrying ashes and bones of cremated bodies 
from the crematory down to the river. Stately 
carriages with murky coachmen and fore-runners in white 
garments arrived in long lines at the pier with the guests of 
the day. When all were onboard, the steamers whistled, the 
band struck up "God save the Queen," and the little flotilla 
steamed up the river amid merry chatting and deafening 
hurrahs. 




ifiTsiriff 



STEAMER ON THE GANGES. 



We first passed hundreds of Indian river boats from twen 
ty-five to seventy-five feet long, with roofs supported by 
bamboo poles and loaded with grain, cotton, fruit, jute, 
goats, etc. The crews consisted of men, women and chil- 
dren who live on thes.e river boats for years. They take ad- 



Stjky of an Emigrant. 



227 



vantage of the tides in going up or down the river, and also 
use a broad oar in the prow of the boat. 




RFV^ER BOAT. 



On the west side of the river lies the manufacturing city 
Howrah, with the largest railroad depot in India, and 
dock-yards extending about two miles. On the east bank, 
a short distance above Calcutta are immense warehouses and 
hydraulic presses for preparing jute, a kind of hemp. The 
largest of these employ's three thousand workmen day and 
night, and belongs to a Greek firm, Rally Brothers, who are 
said to have the greatest mercantile establishment existing. 
They own branch houses in thirty-six of the largest com- 
mercial cities of the world. 

Amid the happy strains of music we passed up the river. 
Stately palm trees in small groups rose above the surround- 
ing groves, villages, temples and houses, while the dense 
foliage of other kinds of trees hung down the river banks 
wherever they were allowed to grow. Many of these bore 
flowers resembling tulips, acacias, jasmines, etc. Birds of 
the most gorgeous colors, but poor songsters, were flitting 



328 



Story of an EmigiJant, 



and hopping about among the branches ; vast numbers of 
small, white cows and oxen were being herded by children 
on the meadows between the rice fields along the river, and 
at intervals of about two miles were temples consecrated to 





TEMPLE ON THE RIVER BANK. 



Hindoo gods. These temples were of a beautiful style and of 
perfect symmetry. Toward the river was an open portico. 
From this a flight of steps led down to the water. This was 
a Hindoo bathing place, w^here the holy water was taken. 
Just then a number of w^omen were seen on the steps fetching 
water in clay jars, somewhat similar to the one Rebecca 
used at the w^ell. These jars are carried either on the head 
or on the left hip. On either side of the portico, but from 
fifty to a hundred feet to the rear, stood the temples proper, 
in rows, facing the river, generally six on either side, with an 
eight to twelve-foot-wide path between each temple. The 
temples are about sixteen feet square, with a pointed 



Story of an Emigrant. 



229 



roof surmounted by a round cupola. They are made of 
brick, with a coating of white plaster on the outside ; there 
are no windows, and only one door, opening on the river side. 





WATER CARRIER. 



Inside this door is a niche in which the idol is placed. Only 
.the Brahmins are allowed to enter these temples; where- 
ifore the common heathen has to content himself with 
jsimply looking at the god from the outside; the Christians 
also are generally kept at a respectful distance. 

Here and there along the banks of the river nestle rustic 
villages, the houses of which are generally square, and from 
sixteen to twenty feet on the sides, with pointed thatched 
roofs. The walls are of bamboo poles, interwoven with 
grass mats or plastered with mortar. There are no wooden 



230 



Story of an Emigrant. 



floors, no furniture, and the only utensils are a few bowls of 
clay for cooking, baking vessels of brass, some straw mats 
spread on the clay floor to sleep on during the night. The 
country is low and flat, and during the wet season, which 
lasts from July to October, destructive inundations are quite 
frequent. 

Our steamers soon approached Barrackpoor, a garrisoned 
city on the east bank of the river. This place, which is one 
of the summer residences of the viceroy, has a very beautiful 




^MS.-^ 



pII,^^-. 




'i^e)«.»t^ 



NATIVE HOUSES. 



park, where there are several samples of the remarkable 
banyan or sacred fig-tree. From the branches of the tree 
certain shoots grow downward, and when they reach the 
ground they strike root and grow into new trunks, so that 
one and the same tree finally covers a vast space of ground, 
and looks like a pillared hall. In the park at Barrackpoor 
may be seen one of these trees, large enough to cover one 



Story of an Emigrant. 



231 



thousand men. On the west side of the river, directly op- 
posite, lies the old city of Serampoor, which formerly be- 
longed to Denmark, but was taken by the English in the 
beginning cf this century, and now has only a few inscrip- 
tions and documents which remind us of the Danish period. 
In the river, midway between these cities, a gigantic 
government barge was anchored. On this occasion it was 
covered with canvas, and served as a dining room where a 
tiffin, or lunch, for four hundred persons was served. Our 
steamers anchored, and we sat down at the sumptu- 










BANYAN TREE. 



ous tables. A band of forty pieces from a SepoA^ regimeiit 
garrisoned at Barrackpoor struck up an English march, the 
champagne bottles popped, and all was life and joy. After 
lunch we witnessed six different boat races, all be- 
tween Englishmen, and, the prizes having been awarded, 
the whole company walked on foot about a mile through a 



232 Story of an Emigrant. 

fine park to the railway station, whence a special train car- 
ried the excursionists back to Calcutta. 

After a summer of eight months in the Bengal lowlands 
with a constant temperature of 90° to 100° Fahrenheit in 
the shade, fresh breezes and cool air become luxuries more 
keenly enjoyed than those who live in a more temperate cli- 
mate can conceive. To benefit by both I made a short jour- 
ney in October, 1882, to the celebrated Himalaya mount- 
ains, among which the city of Darjieling is situated. The 
train on the Bengal railroad carried us about three hundred 
miles in a northerly direction through a level lowland teem- 
ing with gardens, palm groves and rice fields, to Siligori , at 
the foot of the mountains, where we arrived in the morning 
at sunrise. Having enjoyed a good breakfast and a bottle 
of Norwegian export beer at the railway eating house, we 
were transferred to a train on the Darjieling & Himalaj'a 
railroad to be carried up seven thousand feet high in a dis- 
tance of forty-two miles. 

This mountain railroad is so different from all other rail- 
roads that it deserves a special description. It is narrow 
gauged in the fullest sense of the word, the distance between 
the rails being only tw^o feet. The cars are very small and 
low, and the wheels are about twelve inches in diameter. 
The car is ten feet long and six feet wide, and contains four 
seats, each of which accominodates four persons ; it is open 
on the sides so that passengers can get on and off easily and 
have an open view. The locomotive is no larger than the 
cars, but powerful enough to pull ten or twelve of them up 
the mountain at the rate of eight or ten miles an hour. No- 
where is the track straight even for a distance of a couple 
of hundred yards, but it winds right and left in the most 
fantastic manner, and reminded me strikingly of the lines 
described in one of the old country dances. 

The signal is given, the pigmy locomotive puffs and sput- 



Story of an Emigrant. 233 

ters, the train with its load of humanity rolls away up 
hills and mountains and across awful chasms, up, up, up; 
hour after hour, with a grade of one to eighteen and twenty- 
eight, or on an average of twenty-three feet. It winds along 
the rugged mountain side, over awful chasms, and with 
such short curves that one's hair stands on end when look- 
ing down or up the steep cliffs, the summits of which to,v- 
er above the clouds. A loose stone rolling down, a brok- 
en rail, or a derailment would immediately hurl the iron 
horse with its cars and human lives thousands of feet 
down to the bottom of the abyss, and reduce the w^hole 
to an unrecognizable wreck. Beautiful trees, grass, flow- 
ers, creeping plants adorn hills and vales except in the ra- 
vines and cliffs, where foaming creeks and cataracts have 
torn away the vegetation by tumultuouslv tossing them- 
selves from rock to rock, from cliff to cliff, from valley to 
valley, gradually uniting in the rivers that continually 
feed the mighty Ganges. 

The track follows a twenty-five-foot-wide driveway, the 
most part of which is hewn out of the solid rock, and on this 
highway may be seen the mountaineers from Nepaul and 
Thibet driving large numbers of pack animals (ponies and 
cattle) carrying products of Europe and America into and 
beyond the mountains to the peoples of northern Asia. Here 
and there on the green hills are the best tea plantations of 
India. These long, low, white buildings are the residences 
and factories of the planters, and close by are the dwellings 
of the native laborers, consisting of long rows of thatched 
huts, and in terraces along the steep hills are endless rows of 
tea bushes, among which laborers dressed in picturesque 
costumes of gay colors are busy picking tea, advancing in 
irregular lines — resembling the skirmish lines of an army. 
This picture is at first seen against the horizon, so far up 
that the men can scarcely be distinguished from the bushes, 



234 



Story of an Emigrant. 



and a couple of hours later the same picture may be viewed 
far down in a deep valley. 

After awhile at the head of a long valley appear lofty, 
white objects whose summits rise far up above the mist and 
the clouds; it is the highest peaks ot the Himalaya moimtains, 
from sixty to one hundred miles distant. Thus the journey 
is continued up the mountains until the train finally stops 
at Darjieling, which is one of the most noteworthy places in 
the world. It is a sanitarium, and the summer residence of 
the government of Bengal, and during the hot season makes 
a favorite resort for many of the Hindoo nobles and princes 




PALACE AND TEilPLE IN THE IIlilALAVAS. 



as well as Europeans. The city has a few thousand inhabi- 
tants, the majority of whom are Thibetan and Nepaul 
mountaineers. There we see the Christian church, the Mo- 
hammedan mosque and the Hindoo temple in close jjrox- 
imity to each other, and on the streets one may often meet 



Story of an Emigrant. 235 

Catholic monks carrying the crucifix, and Llamas or Thibetan 
priests in long, brown felt mantles, turning their praying- 
wheel, which consists of an artistically made machine of sil- 
ver, in which are engraved the following words: "Rum 
mahnee padme hang," which means, "Hail thee, jewel and 
lotus flower," or "Glory to God." 

Residences, churches, hotels and all public and private 
buildings lie in a semi-circle on the western slope of one of 
the mountains, offering a very fine picture. Excellent roads 
are built in zigzag form up and down over hills and mount- 
ains. There are scarcely any carriages but a kind of palan- 
quin called dandies, and small ponies which are so sure- 
footed that they can climb up and down the mountains like 
goats. Both men and women ride these or are carried by 
three strong bearers from Thibet. Darjieling is elevated 
eight thousand feet above the level of the sea, and at this 
place black clouds may often be seen sv^eeping along the 
western side far below one's feet. The air is so clear, fresh 
and salubrious that it seems to infuse new strength, vitality 
and almost new- life. It impels either to activity or to sleep ; 
it is impossible to sit still or be mentally inactive. The view 
of the landscape below is claimed to be the most beautiful in 
the whole world. Beneath the terraces on which we walk 
are seen smiling valleys, one below another, away down 
far into the plains of Bengal, variegated by rivers, forests, 
cities and many-colored fields, and far away to the distant 
north against the blue horizon, one great mountain rises 
above and beyond another, capped with eternal crowns of 
snow high up among the restless clouds — twenty thousand 
feet higher than Darjieling, and twenty-nine thousand feet 
above the sea, — over five miles in height. 

The loftiest peaks are Kinchinjunga forty-five miles, and 
Mount Everest, sixty miles distant from Darjieling. It is 
claimed that these peaks can be seen for a distance of 



236 Story of an Emigrant. 

three hundred miles in clear weather. There these mighty 
giants stand clad in snowy garbs, like sentinels at 
the portals of infinite space, seemingly belonging more to 
heaven than to earth. No wonder that the Hindoos look 
at them with solemn awe, for cold and insensible to beau- 
ty and grandeur must he be, who does not, at this sight, 
feel his own littleness and the inconceivable greatness of 
the creator. 



CHAPTER XXIY. 



Cholera and other Diseases — The Causes of Cholera — How the Soldiers are 
Protected Against it — Sudden Deaths — Fevers — The Teraj — Contempt 
for Death — The Cholera Hospital — The Sistersof Mercy — The Princes 
Tagore — Hindoo Family Customs — Hindoo Gallantry — A Hindoo 
Pete. 



The cHolera has its home proper in India, and breeds in 
the Bengal lowlands after the rainy season, winch closes in 
the fall. Its ravages are most pronounced in the month of 
December, but cases are quite frequent the whole year round. 
During my second year's sojourn in India it was very violent 
in December, but I would scarcely have known of it at all if 
my official duties had not made it incumbent on me to re- 
port from the board of health of India to that of the United 
States at Washington. Now and then I was reminded of 
the existence of the malady by the sudden deaths of my ac- 
quaintances. On three different occasions I enjoyed a pleas- 
ant evening entertainment in company with a number of 
friends, one of whom was not only dead, but even buried 
before the next morning. 

Although India is ravaged by different deadly diseases, 
especially a kind of fever of which people die after one or two 
days' sickness; still, disease and death are scarcely ever 
mentioned among Anglo-Indians. They don't like to talk 
about such unpleasant things. A friend is suddenly and un- 
expectedly snatched away from social circles, but his death 

237 



238 Story of an Emigrant. 

is seldom or never mentioned, just as if a secret and united 
agreement of taciturnity had been entered into by the sur- 
vivors. Once I was invited to dine at the table d'hote of 
the officers at the military station Dum-Dum, a few miles 
from Calcutta. I drove out there in the evening, and at 
eight o'clock I had dinner in company with about forty offi- 
cers, the majority of whom belonged to the Scotch frontier 
regiment. Col. Chapman, one of the party, was a jolly old 
Scotch warrier, and Lieut. -Col. Hill was my host. After a 
splendid dinner such as India alone can offer, the company 
grouped themselves around several whist-tables according 
to the custom in the higher circles among the English. Col. 
Chapman was my partner, and we parted company at one 
o'clock. I accompanied Lieut. -Col. Hill to his villa, and we 
went to bed. At eight o'clock the next morning he entered 
my room with the sad news that he was just returning from 
the funeral of Col. Chapman. The stern old warrior who 
returned unscathed from twenty battle-fields w^as attacked 
by the cholera at two o'clock, died at four o'clock, and w^as 
buried at six o'clock. Such is life in India. 

At the foot of the Himalayas is a very extensive territory 
called Teraj. Its soil is very fertile and adapted for tea cult- 
ure. The whole territory is covered with timber, bushes 
and other plants, which, with the exception of certain culti- 
vated portions, form an impenetrable jungle, affording a 
natural resort for tigers, leopards, and other wild beasts. 
The lofty mountains and the dense jungles shut out the sun, 
and the whole region is full of poisonous vapors which are nev- 
er dispelled. It would be almost certain death for an Euro- 
pean to live there for any length of time, and it is customary 
even in passing through the country on the railway train tc 
take double doses of quinine as a precaution. The fever and 
cholera which are thus generated in the jungles and spread 
through the rice fields cause terrible ravages, not only among 



Story of ax Emigrant. 239 

the Europeans, but also among the natives. Medical science 
has done a great deal to mitigate this evil, and the cholera, 
at least, has been carefully studied and controlled bv the 
medical department of the Anglo-Indian army, so at present 
the malady is not feared so much as might be expected. 
The germs of the disease consist of microbes, which are car- 
ried in swarms b}^ the wind. If such a pestiferous current of 
air strikes a place where soldiers are stationed, they are im- 
mediateh^ ordered to break camp, and in a few hours the 
whole force is marching at a right angle with the wind, and 
after a day's march and a night's bivouac the physicians are 
generally able to tell whether the troops are out of the chol- 
era district or not. If not, the march is continued day after 
day, always at a right angle with that of the precedingday, 
until the air contains no more cholera microbes. 

Old officers of the arm}' told me that they had seen the 
cholera pass over one part of the camp attacking every 
fourth man on one side of the camp street without touching 
a single one on the other. It is claimed that the fear and 
anxiety caused by thisdreadfulmalady areevenmoredanger- 
ous than the disease itself. 

One day while sitting at my breakfast table I received a 
message from the University hospital that an American sail- 
or was very anxious to see me before he died. I immediately 
drove over there and was met at the entrance by the pres- 
ident. Dr. J. M. Coates, but when I arrived in the cholera 
apartment the man had just died. A sister of mercy was 
present at his death-bed, and had promised to carry his last 
message to me, which consisted in a greeting of love and a 
few trinkets to be sent to his mother in the state of Alaine. 
There was a large apartment filled with cholera patients. 
Many of the native patients were visited by their friends and 
relatives ; for the Hindoos do not entertain any fear of death, 
but rather court it, believing that a death causedby aconta- 



24-0 Story of an Emigrant. 

gious disease or apoisonous snake is simply a dispensation 
of Providence by which they are called away to abetterlife. 

As an illustration of this fact I mention the following inci- 
dent : One day while I was inspecting an American vessel a 
Hindoo laborer fell overboard, and a Norwegian sailor 
plunged into the water and saved him. After being brought 
safely on the deck the Hindoo became so angry at the Nor- 
wegian that he could have killed him, simply because he had 
prevented his entering paradise. Such occurrences are quite 
frequent. 

I mentioned that I met a sister of mercy at the death-bed 
of an American cholera patient in the hospital. I cannot 
neglect this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude 
to these noble women, the modern nuns of the Catholic 
church. I have seen them in the dens of degradation and 
wretchedness in the American cities, among the sick, 
wounded and dying soldiers on the battle-fields of the South; 
I have seen them in an Arabian sea-port, searching for pov- 
erty-stricken travelers, among the cholera patients and 
among the unfortunate inmates of the prisons of India, 
always performing the same angelic duty, helping the poor, 
tending the sick, and comforting the despondent. 01 
course I am no Catholic, nor is it my intention to defend the 
Catholic faith; but I wish to acknowledge my appreciation 
of and pay my respect to the noble work which the priests 
and nuns of that church are carrying on among the lowl}' 
and erring members of our race. 

The Hindoos are the most polite and clever people I ever 
saw. Their manners are exquisitely fine; no rudeness, no 
profanit}--, no intemperance is to be found among them, not 
even among the lowest classes. As has been said already, 
the higher classes are exceedingly polished and cleanly ; all 
treat their parents and old people with marked respect. I 
shall narrate a few incidents to illustrate this : Shortly after 



Story of an Emigrant. 



241 



my arrival in Calcutta I became acquainted witli the two 
Princes Tagore, especially the younger of them. They are 
titled princes, and enormously rich. They have many pal- 
aces, hundreds of secretaries, workingmen, servants, and 
pensioners, and, as is the custom among the Hindoos, 
whose families are ranked according to the principles of 
patriarchal life, they all live together and get their support 
from the common property. I visited 
them several times, but mostly the 
younger prince who was at that time 
about forty-five years old, and a great 
admirer of America. Although a man 
of that age and rank he never talked 
in the presence of his elder brother un- 
til the latter had by a word or a nod 
signified that he was allowed to 
speak. A son is never allowed to talk 
in the presence of his father until the 
latter is through. The eldest member 
of the family is its highest ruler, and 
even the Princes Tagore would never 
take any important steps before ob- 
taining the consent of their aged 
mother. 

Many prominent Hindoos and Mo- 
hammedans, some of whom -were 
native rulers, came and visited me, before they invited me 
to their great fetes. One of tne frequent visitors was Dr. 
L. N. Maitra, a Brahmin of the highest class, and one of 
the most intelligent and clever men I met in India. He used 
to sit with me for hours, telling about the life, history 
and religion of the Hindoos. Having become acquainted 
with each other by several months' intercourse, one day 
he sat a long while at my house as if absorbed in deep 

16 




DR. 



MAITKA KEADING 
SANSKRIT. 



242 



Story of an Emigrant. 



thought, and when he was ready to leave he asked if ] 
would allow him to recite a Hindoo proverb in Sanskrit. 
In doing this he proved himself to be a great elocutionist, 
and it seemed to me that I had never heard more music in 
prose, although I could not, of course, understand a single 
w^ord of it. 

I asked him for a translation, and the next day he sent 
me one with the assurance that he intended to apply the 
proverb to me. It reads thus: "Do not enter into a very 
intimate acquaintance with anybody; but if you do, see 
that your friend is not a stranger; but if he is a stranger, 

see to it that he is 
not an educated 
man ; but if he is ed- 
ucated, never part 
from him; but if fate 
compels you to part 
from him, then trv 
to control that 
which we cannot 
control, that is, die, 
for death alone can 
make up for the loss 
of such a good 
man." I have told 
this to show not 
only the Hindoo's 
conception of the 
happiness of death, 
but also his exquis- 
ite politeness and 




t^^ 5^5^^:^^^*-c^^=4-^^^2^ 



MY CHIEF CLERK. 



delicacv of feelino-. 



When a Hindoo wishes to pay an elderly man or woman 
hisrespect orinsome manner honor them, he calls them father 



Story of an Emigrant. 243 

or mother, or, if they are his equals in age, brother or 
sister. Even to-day, when my former clerks write to me 
they call me father, and ask me to remember them to 
their dear mother, that is, my wife. 

On a few occasions some Hindoo princes and nobles 
would arrange special entertainments and fetes for me, or 
rather in honor of the country represented by me, and on 
such occasions the invitation was not limited to me, but 
was extended to my friends also, so that I could take with 
me of these as many as I pleased. 

The Tagore family had a beautiful country house outside 
the city, where, one day shortly after my arrival, a party 
was given in honor of myself as representing the United 
States. Among the friends who accompanied me on this 
occasion was the Danish traveler, D' Irgens-Bergh, whose 
acquaintance I had made on my journey from Naples to 
Alexandria. The villa might more correctly have been called 
a palace, for it was on a grand scale and a perfect gem of 
architectural beauty. The floors and walls of all apartments 
were of marble. A beautiful and finely kept park surrounded 
the palace, and here, on the evening of our visit, hundreds of 
Chinese lanterns illuminated the spacious grounds. The 
most brilliant feature of the entertainment was music ren- 
dered by a complete orchestra of native musicians who used 
Hindoo instruments entirely different from ours ; but pianos, 
guitars and other instruments with which we are acquainted, 
were also used. The younger prince was a great lover of 
music, and maintained, at his own expense, a conservatory 
of music and a large orchestra, giving instruction in 
music free of charge to any young man who was peculiarly 
gifted in that line. He is also well versed in Sanskrit litera- 
ture, and has written several scientific works in Sanskrit. 
Before I left he presented me with one of these works con- 



244 Story op an Emigrant. 

taining his autograph, which is reproduced here as a sample 
of the hand-writing of an educated Hindoo : 

urJ.j. cA- tJe^Jt^ 

•W!M. J.ht.^eyi-,;:, y.Jij~^-7ltU ti/'-^^A^UiAjA.ir 

Our refreshments at the fete consisted of dainties prepared 
by native cooks. Cream, rice, sugar, eggs, fish, flour, and 
spices were the chief ingredients of the different courses. 
Champagne and other European drinks were served with 
the courses, and after the repast we were offered coffee, 
and the servants brought wash basins and towels. Finally 
the majpr domo passed an urn-shaped golden goblet, 
placed on a gold tra}'. In this goblet was a fine sponge 
soaked with attar of roses, which costs about a dollar a drop, 
and in which the guests dipped the tips of their fingers and 
moistened their foreheads and clothes. The least contact 
with this attar causes a fragrance which lasts for months. 

Neither on this occasion nor at any other festivity ar- 



Story of an Emigrant. 



245 



ranged by native Hindoos were any of the women present 
or visible to us, although we knew they were close enough 
to see us throuofh windows or gratinofs. The men them- 
selves assisted in waiting on us, but tasted nothing in 
our presence. When finally the carriages drove up and the 
guests parted ea:h one of tham received a huge bouquet of 
beautiful, fragrant flowers. 




RAJAH TAG ORE. 



CHAPTER XXY. 

Agriculture, Manufacture and Architecture— Wheat Growing — The Farm 
Laborer — His Condition, Implements, etc. The Taj-Mahal— Jugglers- 
Snake Charmers — From M3' Journal. 



A. large majority of the Hindoos are agriculturists. The 
staple crops are wheat, rice, and different species of pease. 
The wheat production of India exerts a great influence on 
the grain market of Europe, and is one of the most danger- 
ous competitors to our American wheat. Having been ordered 
by the United States government to report on the wheat 
growing of India, I made this a special object of investiga- 
tion and study, and in December, 1882, sent a report to the 
government in Washington w^hich is our first reliable infor- 
mation on that subject; it elicited a great deal of attention, 
and was a source of genuine surprise in this country. I sub- 
mit a few extracts from this report : 

The annual wheat production of India now reaches two hundred and 
forty million bushels, of which two hundred million may be exported, while 
the natives make their bread from other kinds of grain. The total area 
devoted to wheat each year is now a little over twenty million acres, and 
the best average yield is thirteen and one-half bushels per acre. Wheat 
grow^ing is now receiving the special attention of the generrd and local gov- 
ernments, and important works are being made and projected for an exten- 
sive system of canal irrigation. One ot these, the Sirhind canal in the Pun- 
jab, hasjust been completed ; it was built mainly by prisonlabor, is five hun- 
dred and two miles long, and will irrigate seven hundred and eighty 
thousand acres through two thousand five hundred miles of minor channels. 

The wheat is sown in the autumn and harvested in March or April ; it is 



Story of an Emigrant. 



247 



usually sown in drills or rows, weeded like garden stuff, and in quantities 
not much larger than garden patches in the United States. The agricultural 
population numbers nearly two hundred millions; it is the aggregate of 
innumerable little units which, in agriculture, as in everything else in India, 
brings the country into importance; and this fact is so closely' interwoven 
with the w^hole social, industrial and legal network of India, that it bears 
a strong influence even upon the future question of Indian versus American 
wheat. 

The Indian agriculturist, — "Ryot," — can in no sense be compared to the 
American farmer, but rather to the late serf of Russia. He is a tenant on 
hard conditions, and is by custom and bigotry almost a fixture on the spot 
of land where he was born; his farming is done on a very small scale and 
according to old methods, to which he clings with religious veneration ; his 




PLOWING IN INDIA. 



wants are very few, and he endures poverty and even hunger with patience; 
he cultivates his patch of five to fifteen acres on shares for the landed pro- 
prietor, — "zemindar," — who holds under rental to the government, and the 
better half of his gross income generally goes to the zemindar, the priest 
(Brahmin) and the usurer, in the form of rent, presents, offerings and inter- 



248 



Story of an Emigrant. 



est, and if he can net ten cents a day by his hard and hopeless labor, that 
will suffice for the most pressing wants of his household. His home is a 
mud, or bamboo-hut, his property a pair of small bullocks, a few cows, 
calves and goats, a wooden cart, and a few brass and earthen pots, in all 
worth about fifty dollars, and his implements and tools are of the rudest 
kind, such as his ancestors used a thousand years ago ; and yet he is making 
some progress under British rule, and finds his wants increasing, and at 
the same time better outlets for his produce and better recompense for his 
labor, and on the whole, is so independent on ten cents a day, that he will 
eat or store his wheat rather than sell it below a certain price. Of course 
he does not employ machinery in farming, but plows his land with a crook- 
ed piece of iron-pointed wood, harrows it with an instrument resembling a 
common ladder laid flat on the ground and dragged by little bullocks cross- 
ways over the field ; he sows by hand, reaps with a rude sickle, carries the 
sheaves home on his back or in the bullock cart, threshes them with a 
wooden club, or lets the cattle tramp out the grain, and cleans it by hand- 
winnowing. 




LABORERS AT THE INDIGO PRESS. 

India of course yields a great number of other kinds of agri- 
cultural products, especially tlie indigo plant, from which 



Story of an Emigrant. 249 

the renowned dye-stuff is made; rape, mustard and other 
species of seeds from which oils are pressed, the opium plant, 
etc. 

In the cities and towns the people devote themselves to 
trades and handicrafts, in some of which thcj attain greater 
perfection than any other people. Their beautiful carvings 
in wood and ivory, their exquisite embroideries, their textiles 
and yarns exceed everything in that line. But their ability 
is not due to any genius or ingenuity, but to close observa- 
tion and patient application. According to their religious 
tenets the sons must learn the trade of their father, and they 
begin to work at his side as soon as they can handle a needle, 
chisel, or other tool, and continue the practice day after day, 
year after year, until they also in turn, have taught their 
children and grandchildren the same trade. Certain places 
are noted for certain industries, as Dakka for its fine muslin; 
Benares for its embroideries, etc. The muslin weavers of 
Dakka can with their hands spin and weave fabrics which 
are almost as fine as cobweb, and a person who is not ac- 
customed to such work would not be able to feel the thread 
between his fingers; but the sensitiveness of the Hindoo 
spinner in Dakka has been developed to such an extraordi- 
nary degree during a hundred generations that he is able to 
perform works which would be perfectly impossible for 
others. I have seen a garment presented to a Hindoo king 
which was so fine in texture that, although it was a com- 
plete suit, it was folded up and safely packed into a mango 
shell, which is only a little larger than an almond shell, and 
thus presented, I have in m^^ possession a little box two 
inches wide and four inches long, made of sandal-wood and 
adorned with fine carvings ; all the edges are inlaid with 
pieces of ivory, in which are again inlaid more than two 
thousand separate pieces of different metals so skilfully put 



250 



Story of an Emigrant. 



together that the joints can not be detected even by using a 
magnifying glass. 

In architecture the Hindoos also distinguished themselves 
centuries ago by the erection of buildings which are still ob- 
jects of the admiration of the world. One of these master 
works of architecture is regarded as the most beautiful ever 
erected by the hands of men. It is the Taj-Mahal at Agra, 




TAJ-MAHAL. 

a mausoleum erected by emperor Shah Jehan over the re- 
mains of his wife, Bengos Begum, who died in 1630. "During 
a period of seventeen ^^ears after her death Shah Jehan col- 
lected building material of marble and precious stones to be 
used in the construction of the mattsoleum. All parts of In- 
dia contributed to this, as did the different parts of the Holy 
Land to the temple of Solomon, and its estimated cost is 
twenty-five million dollars. It is built in Moorish style, with 
slender pillars, and its majesty and beauty profoundh^ im- 
press tie beho-c'er. M my buildings in the world excel this 



Story of an Emigrant. 251 

temple in size, but none can rival it in ideal beauty and fin- 
ish. It looks more like a temple of thanksgiving and praise 
than an abode of sorrow, and the spirit of love seems to fill 
its silent chambers, quickening and warming the cold mar- 
ble and transforming the whole building into a dream, into 
a psalm in stone. It is rich in mosaics, and precious stones 
of different colors assume the shape of fresh vines and living 
flowers. There it stands in solemn silence on the banks of 
the Jumna, like an enchanted vision. It seemed to grow in 
magnificent splendor before my eyes as I approached it. 
The airy dome and the white marble pillars glittered in fab- 
ulous, m\'stic beauty, and towered far above the gigantic 
cypress trees, which stood in rows like sentinels around it. 
One enters the park in front of the main building through a 
pillared archw^ay of colossal dimensions, built of red sand- 
stone and surmounted by twenty-six white cupolas. The 
height of the arches is one hundred and forty feet. 

"Taj-Mahal iserected on a baseof red sand-stone nine hun- 
dred and sixty-four feet long and three hundred and twenty- 
nine feet wide, one side of which is washed by the river 
Jumna, and on each of the four corners is a tower of red 
sand-stone covered by a white marble kiosk. Two mosques 
take up tlieeast and west sides. From this ground rises a fine 
terrace of white marble, three hundred and thirteen feet 
square, in the center of which is the beautiful main building 
itself. At each angle is an airy marble spire of exquisite 
style, surmounted by a noble cupola resting on eight pillars. 
They are about one hundred and fifty feet high, and a spiral 
stairway leads to the voy top. The ground-plan of Taj- 
Mahal forms a regular octangle. The four sides on which 
the entrances are located are each about one hundred and 
thirty feet long, and turn to the four cardinal points of the 
compass. The roof is seventy feet above the base. Over 
each corner is a gorgeous spire, and over the center towers a 



252 Story op an Emigrant. 

Garble dome measuring seventy feet in diameter, and ris- 
ing to a height of one hundred and twenty feet. It is cov- 
ered by a gilt vault in the shape of a half-moon about two 
, hundred and sixty feet above the floor. All this is of the 
\ finest Jaypoor marble, carefully polished, and still retaining 
its pure color. 
\ "Notwithstanding the colossal size of Taj-Mahal, every 
part of it, from the foundation to the dome, is adorned with 
artistically executed designs, and the whole is as carefully 
wrought as the finest ebony ornament. Thus the entire Koran 
is inscribed on it. Even to-day the burial vault of the beau- 
tiful queen is filled with the fragrance of roses, jasmines and 
sandal-wood. The graves of the empress and emperor con- 
stitute sarcophagi of the purest marble, covered with elegant 
inlays of agate, carnelians, lapis lazuli and other precious 
stones, and surrounded by a six-foot-high gallery in the open 
net-work of which lilies, roses and other flowers of gems 
are inlaid. The dome in Taj-Mahal produces an echo which 
is more pleasant, pure and lasting than any other. A 
single musical sound produced by the human voice seems to 
flow or soar up there like a prolonged, pleasant modulation, 
which dies away so slowly that one seems to hear it after it is 
silent, just as one seems to see a lark after following it with 
the eyes after it has disappeared. Twenty thousand work- 
men were engaged for twenty-two years in erecting this 
mausoleum." 

These recollections from India would be incomplete if I 
should omit to describe some of the wonderful tricks which 
I saw performed bj Hindoo jugglers. As I was sitting one 
day in an open place before the hotel in Benares, together 
with some English army officers, an ordinary looking Hin- 
doo of the lower classes, accompanied by a small boy, ap- 
peared before us, and asked permission to show the mango 
trick This being granted, the boy scraped up some earth 



Story of an Emigrant. 253 

on the road before our eyes, and made a little mound of it 
on the floor of the open veranda in front of the hotel. 
The magician, who had no other garment on than a loose- 
ly wrapped cotton cloth, usually worn by the men, and in 
his hand a white cloth and a little bag containing a few 
sticks and other small implements, stooped down beside 
the little mound of earth, and, with his eyes fixed on us, 
took a mango kernel about twice the size of a peach stone, 
which he planted in the little mound. Havingsmoothed the 
mound ^th his hands he recited several praj^ers and in- 
cantations, and made some motions over the mound with 
a magic Avand, carefully assuming an air of expectancy. Af- 
ter a minute or tw^o we saw the mound slowly opening at 
the top and the tender shoot of a plant coming up through 
the crack. The Hindoo sat with folded hands, occasionally 
breathing on the plant, and every now and then he would 
invoke some invisible being. Meanwhile the plant grew tall- 
er and more solid, until it finally assumed the shape of a 
dwarf tree, which kept growing and sent out branches and 
leaves. This development took place gradually and 
slowly, until finally a ripe mango fruit was seen hanging 
down from one of the branches. During this wonderful per- 
formance the magician had only now and then for a mo- 
ment covered the plant with the cloth in his hand. 

At another time, w^hen I was on the deck of a large steam- 
er, a Hindoo accompanied by a little girl asked the passen- 
gers to permit him to perform a trick. This being granted, 
he placed a round wicker basket, resembling a paper waste- 
basket, on the deck, and the little girl sat down in it so that 
her head and feet w^ere flush with the edge of the basket, 
which was thus fairly filled up by the girl. Thereupon the 
Hindoo put the cover on and took a long, straight, double- 
edged sword which he ran through the basket in all direc- 
tions. It was a shocking sight, some of the ladies screamed, 



254 



Story of an Emigrant. 



others fainted. But when he removed the cover from the 
basket the girl came out alive and without injury. The 
sword was handed to us for inspection, and I am perfectly 
sure that it was a straight, solid, honest infantry weapon. 
During all this time the basket stood on the deck of the ship 
so that no springs, machinery or other contrivance could be 
concealed under it. 

Snake charmers are very common in India. "When one of 
these is to perform a trick he asks for a piece of paper, which 




SNAKE CHARMERS, 



he puts in the out-stretched hand of the spectator, and be- 
gins to play on his flute, and stare with his eyes as if he sees 
something near the hand. His whole body seems to be 
changed ; writhing like a worm, he continually plays on the 
instrument and keeps his eyes riveted on the hand. Sudden- 
ly he rushes forward and points to the same. But the spec- 
tator sees nothing, and the charmer again plays and con- 
torts his bodv still more wildly. His arms are bare up to 
the elbows, and. ke holds, the .flute with both hands. Sud- 



Story of an Emigrant. 255 

detily he throws his flute away, continues his motions and 
repeats incantations. Again he points to the paper, and 
while the observer turns his eyes in that direction without 
seeing anything unusual, the charmer presses his folded hands 
down on it and pulls out three large cobras, raising their 
heads and stretching out their poisonous tongues in dififer- 
ent directions while he holds them in his hand." 

These and similar tricks are performed daily, yet no one 
has been able to detect how they are done. The theory of 
hypnotism has recently been advanced, and it does not seem 
improbable. 

The following extract from my journal may be of interest : 

Oct. 8, 18 ?2. — Yesterday I witnessed one of the most important expres- 
s'ons of public opinion ever recorded in Asia, in favor of religious libert3'^. 
Three thousand prominent persons, mostly Hindoos and Mohammedans, 
and a few Christians and Parsees, as-embled in the city hall of Calcutta, 
and brilhant speeches were made eliciting most animated applause from 
the native nor.-Chrlstian inhabitants as a protest against the police prose- 
cuting the salvation army, lately arrived in Bombay. What do the 
Ameii:an and Erro; can Christians think of the necessity for Brahmins, 
Mohammedans, and Parsees to protest against prosecutions by Christians 
agairst Chr'stians? 

Dnijiein;-, Oct. 17, 1882.— Here dwells a tribe of mountaineers who are 
poly mdrists, the reverse of poh'gamists. Each woman has several hus- 
bands, who are generally brothers or near relatives. This practice has 
locally decreased the population, while in all other Hindoo sects it is rap-- 
idly increasing. 

The English aristocracy is strongly represented here. The summer resi- 
dence of the Bengal government, which is located here, as well as the excel- 
lent sanitarium, attract thousands of travelers. Excursions, dinners, balls 
andother festivities follow each other in rapid succession. This afternoon I 
was present at one of these gatherings, and met the Greek merchant Palochi, 
and made other interesting acquaintances. This evening shall attend a ball 
given by the governor of Bengal. At all these parties " simkim," or cham- 
pagne, flows in streams. Life is gay and luxurious among the aristocracy 
in India. 

Nov. 23, 1882.— Was present at a quiet and select entertainment with 
the king of Kutch Behar, in his palace in Calcutta. Ilis wife is a daughter 
of the ST-eat Hindoo reformer Keshub-Chunder-Sen ; she is a well edu- 



256 Story of an Emigrant. 

cated, beautiful woman, who, together with her husband, the young and 
elegant king, defies the Hindoo caste restrictions, and appears publicly in 
company with other ladies and gentlemen. 

Dec. 28, 1882. — Attended the decennial missionary conference ; five hun 
dred missionaries from all parts of Asia, Africa and Australia were present, 
and made it a most interesting religious convention. It was a gathering 
of highly cultivated, intelligent, courageous men and women, from the gray 
haired veteran to the young novice fresh from college. The American mis- 
sionaries took a most prominent part, notable among w^hom was Dr. Tho- 
burn, since made a bishop in the methodist church. There were also three- 
Swedes, with whom I formed an acquaintance, — Ungert, Edman and Erik- 
son. 

Jan. 18,-1 1883. — Attended the great state ball in the palace of the 
viceroy. Fifteen hundred guests w^ere present, and the throng formed a 
brilliant picture of beauty, fashion and royal splendor. There were many 
native nobles, princes and rulers, the most prominent ones being the gawk- 
war (king) of Baroda, and the Kahn of Khelat. Wherever the gaw^kwar 
went he was closely followed by half a dozen turbaned attendants and four 
body guards armed with daggers and cimeters, or Damascus blades. His 
garment consisted of blue and green plush and satin, and the many-colored 
turban was almost covered with diamonds. It was claimed that the jewels 
he wore that evening on his breast and turban had a value of two million 
dollars. 

Feb. 10, 1883. — In spite of all efforts to live quietly I am incessantly 
draw^n into the whirl of social life; yesterday I attended one of the most 
pleasant festivities of the season. It was a magnificient fete given by the 
Mohammedan prince Raja Kajendra Naryan Bahadur in his gorgeous palace 
and parks in Shova Bazar in honor of the British victory in Eg3q3t. Three 
thousand guests were present. All kinds of amusements were arranged, 
such as dancing, concerts, acircus with uninterrupted pei-formances,nautches 
or dances performed by native dancing girls, etc. In different parts of the 
palace refreshments were served, all in the same grand style as the rest of 
theentertainment. The parks and gardens were illuminated by thousands 
of Chinese lanterns and many electric lights. 

The following is also taken from my journal: 

• • • Received visits fi-om the Reverend Phillips Brooks and Joseph 
Cook, and from a young Swedish count, Wachtmcister by name, who was 
on his way through Asia, and also from a young prince from Madagascar, 
a son of the queen of that country, w^ho, under the guidance of Ludvig Lar- 
son, a Norwegian sea captain, made a voyage thi'ough the seas of Asia for 
the purpose of learning practical navigation. The young prince spoke 
English fluently, and was a very intelligent man. 



Story of an Emigrant. 



257 



Attended a great festival at a masonic lodge where about one hundred 
and filtymembersof the orderwere present, among whom were menofnear- 
ly every nationality and religion. The Master's degree was conferred 
on three brothers who knelt before the same altar. One was a Christian, 
and took his obligation with the hand on the bible; one was a Mohamme- 
dan, who took it with the hand on the Koran ; the third, a Hindoo, with 
his hand on the Shastra. The obligation was dictated by an EngUsh lord, 
judge of the supreme court, assisted by the secretary of the Grand Lodge, 
my friend Rustomji, a Parsee and fire-worshiper. With the religious in- 
tolerance in India, where all unite in hating the Christians, it is only 
among the Free Masons, who know of no nationality, race or other bar- 
rier, that such things are possible. 

Visited the temple of the goddess Kali in a suburb of Calcutta. Kali is 
the goddess of hate and vengence, and this temple is one of the most cele- 
brated in India. One hundred and fifty Brahmin priests officiate in the 

same. The chief priest, 
R o o n ish-Chunder-Mokerje, 
was a 3'oung man with liber- 
al education. He had spent 
several years in American 
mission schools. His office 
is held by inheritance. He 
was a most agreeable com- 
panion, well versed in west- 
ern as well as Sanskrit liter- 
ature. Once upon telling 
him that I had an intimate 
friend in Sweden w^ho was a 
Christian priest, he gave me 
some pictures of the goddess 
Kali and other idols to send 
him with his compliments. 
In return, I had the pleasure 
a few^ months later to present 
him w^ith a Swedish Bible, 
with his name in golden 
letters on the cover, from my 
— Iriend.the Swedish minister, 
which present he cherished 







ti ii ' i n^' "•"" " — nnwrw nii T iM ■ """'"'^ ^^""'"''^'^ c c 1 J" highly. This Bible IS 



THE GODDESS KALI, 
now kept in the temjjie of Kali. 

At my request Mokerje prepared a brief extract of the religious doc- 
trine of the Hindoos, which reads as follows: 



253 



Story of an Emigrant. 



"We believe in heaven and hell as temporary abodes of reward and pun- 
ishment. When a man dies his good and evil deeds are weighed on the scales. 
First he goes to heaven to receive his reward, then to hell to suffer in pro- 
portion to h'S sins. When everything is squared up he au:ain returns to the 
world in the form of another being, the same process is repeated again and 
aLrain, and he can attain perfect bliss only after he has reached such a stage 
nf development that he can do neither good nor evil deeds, but must lose 
himself in the contemplation of God until he finally ceases to exist as an 
individual being, and is reunited with God of whom he really constitutes a 
part." 

Was invited to the home of Col. Gordon to see some proofs of occulta- 
tion which is very w^ide-spread in India, and witnessed phenomena, which 
were so strange, that I hesitate to write them down. I saw heavy ob- 
iects moving in the air through the room above our heads, and a man with 
the chair on which he sat risin?' s'M-eral feet from, the floor without the aid 
of any visible force what- |@||fpfili'f!^^ 
ever. 1 heard a slate pen 
cil, moved by an invisible 
power, writing on a slate, 
and read in plain English 
what was written. I also 
saw in the same manner a 
pen writing on paper with 
ink, and felt with my hand 
the moisture of the ink. I 
know not wherein the in- 
visible power consisted 
which caused these phenom- 
ena, but that such a pow- 
er does exist I know for cer- 
tain, forinthiscase.at least, 
there was no chance for de- 
ception. 

At the home of the prince 
Tagore I met the renovened 
Madame Blavatsky, and 
many Hindoo theosophists. 
She is a large, corpulent 
woman, with intelligent, 
though rather coarse, feat- 
ures. She believes that 
she is attended by Kut- AiiDUiv, MV moiiamaihdaiN servant. 
Humis-Lal-Sing, a Buddhistic hermit who is claimed to be two thousand 
years old, and have the power of moving his "astral body" as swiftly 
as thought to the most distant places. For my part I saw^ nothing 
remarkable among the theosophists, but it is a common belief among the 




260 



Story of an Emigrant. 



Hindoos tliat certaiti pandits, or learned men.who for years have lived in the 
mountains as hermits, abstainin.irfrom food and all sensual pleasures, there- 
by attain such a power of mind over matter as to be able to separate the 
former from the body and let it, untrammeled bj' the laws of matter, move 
from place to place, still retaining the same form and ability to speak and 
act. Wliether this is so or not I cannot say, but this I know, that " there 
a e more things in heaven and earth than an 
dreamed of in our philosophy." 

What luxuries one may enjoy here in the mosi 
pleasant company, — a glorious nature, palatial 
residences, choice fruits, dishes and wines, pleas- 
ures of all kinds, surrounded by a host ot servants, 
who, in snow-white garments and with bare 
feet, noiselessly and swiftly move about in order 
to gratify one's desires upon the slightest sign, — 
and still how I long for the home in the North, 
with the cool winds and frost and snow which 
quicken the blood, give appetite, and fill one w^ith 
a feeling ot surging vitality and energy, unknown 
in the enervating climates of the South. 

From my veranda I see a crowd of people on 
the street who seem to pay homage to some one. 
It proves to be an idiotic begger, SobuUa. The 
Hindoos believe that when a person has lost his 
reason he is filled with the spirit of God, and 
hence they alwavs treat the insane with respect 
and tender care. 

This April heat makes it easy to realize the 
Hindoo proverb, which says: " Never run when 
you may w^alk, never walk when you may stand still, never stand when 
you may sit, never sit when you may he down." 




SOBULLA, AN IDIOT. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



The Women of India — The Widows — The American Zenana — Prizes Awarded 
in a Giri's School — Annandabai Joshee — Her Visit to America — Reports 
to the Government — Departure from India — Burmah — Ce3'lon — Arabia — 
Cairo. 



From our point of view the social condition of women 
in India is highly deplorable. The women are not regarded 
as the equals of men, but rather as an appendix to them. 
Their religion teaches that thej have no acknowledged rights 
as individuals, and that the only happiness they can attain 
in this world and in the world to come is to become wives 
and mothers of men, and that the more a woman sacrifices 
herself for man the greater will be her reward in the future. 
If the man to v^hom she is married dies, the remainder of her 
life is full of sorrow and suffering, and it is only in the life 
hereafter that she can expect any happiness, and that by be- 
ing reunited with him. 

This belief gave rise to the so-called "sati," or the custom 
to burn the wife on her deceased husband's pyre in 
order that she might at once be reunited with him and 
enjoy salvation through him. "Sati" is now prohibited by 
the English government, but every widow in India is still 
doomed to a life of misery and degradation. 

When we consider that polygamy is practiced to a very 
large extent among the rich. <=o that a man is allowed to 

261 



262 Story of an Emigrant. 

have any number of wives, and may keep on takinc^ new 
wives as long as he lives, it may easily be understood what 
a great number of widows there must be. There is an old 
man, for example, who dies and leaves many widows of dif- 
ferent ages, some of them only ten or twelve years old, none 
of whom are allowed to marry a second time. The}'^ are de- 
prived of all ornaments, and compelled to wear a ver}^ coarse, 
plain dress, to live on the plainest food, and work hard for 
the man v^rho inherits the property of the deceased husband, 
and v^ho is generally his brother or his son. This is the rea- 
son that rich families have a large number of women in all 
ranks and conditions, from the mistress of the house, which 
position is held by the husband's mother, to the humblest 
servant woman. The education of women is prohibited; 
hence they are very much like children, playing with their 
dolls, jewels and other toys, and having no higher idea of 



.^Ab '' 



X'-- 



MISSION HOME AND SCHOOL. 



life :'n general than what thej^ have been taught in the nurs- 
ery. It is rather fortunate, therefore, that these lamentable 
victims of prejudice live in ignorance, as long as the present 



Story of an Emigrant. 263 

condition exists, for otherwise their life would be still more 
miserable. 

In the course of the last few years missionaries from Europe 
and America have opened schools for the education of girls. 
The most prominent of these is located in Calcutta, and has 
many branches in other parts of India. It is called "the 
American Zenana," or ladies' mission, and during my stay in 
India it was managed by a Miss Hook, a very estimable 
lady of Danish descent, the fruits of whose noble work will 
be of incalculable value to future millions of Hindoo women. 

At an examination in this school I had the honor of distrib- 
uting the prizes, consisting of five hundred American dolls 
sent bj^ Cyrus Field of New York. The recipients were the 
most dainty and pretty little girls one could see. I wnsh I 
could describe this festivitv. I sat on the platform in the 
great hall with Miss Hook to the right, a pundit or learned 
Brahmin to the left, and surrounded by the American and 
native teachers and some American tourists. The immense 
hall might be compared with a beautiful flower terrace alive 
with different colors, every little girl shining like a pretty 
flower in her red, green, white, blue or purple dress, her pret- 
ty black hair sparkling with gold and silver ornaments or 
jewels. They were all listening with cloSe attention until 
their names were called, when they modestly, their faces 
b-'aming with joy, stepped up to receive the pretty dolls sent 
by the generous American. 

At first these schools met wnih bitter opposition on the 
part of the better classes of natives, but these prejudices 
gradually died away, and at present the mission schools 
are not subject to either persecution or ill-will. 

One da}^ in February, 1883, I received a visit at my home 
by a Brahmin of the highest class, accompanied by his young 
wife and her little sister. Her name was Annandabai 
Joshee. Her husband was postmaster in the old Danish city 



264 



Story of an Emigrant, 



Serampoor. lie was a highly educated man, about forty 
years of age, with fine, affable manners. His wife was 
nineteen years old, and they had been married nine years. 

With the exception of the 
queen of Kutch Behar and a 
few in the Zenana mission, 
she was the first educated 
Hindoo woman that I had 
met. Her husband had 
given her an excellent edu- 
cation. 

Their errand was to con- 
sult me and, if possible, ob- 
tain my assistance in a 
matter of the greatest im- 
portance to the women of 
3 India. The young woman 
iiad reflected somewhat in 
this manner: "Since I 
have acquired education, 
3 and the same amount of 
knowledge as a man, why 
may not other w^omen in 
ANNAD.U3AI josHEE. India do the same? In 

America many women arerenov^med for their great learning, 
and many of them are doctors of medicine. The women of 
India are not allowed to be visited by any man except their 
husband, and as all our ph3^sicians are men, who cannot see 
and carefully examine their female patients, they cannot, of 
course, prescribe proper treatment for them ; hence many 
women in India must suffer and die without a remedy, which 
often could be avoided if women studied medicine. If 
American women can become physicians, then I can, and I 
have decided to go to America and enter the female medical 




Stukv of an Emigrant. 265 

"college in Philadelphia and study for the degree of doctor of 
medicine, and then return to India and do good among my 
countrywomen, and disprove the false doctrine which keeps 
Hindoo women in ignorance and degradation." Her hus- 
band was very enthusiastic for her plan, and, being rich, 
was also able to assist her in carrying it out if I would 
favor it and contribute toward its realization by reason of 
the influence my official position gave. 

A few weeks later, the noble minded little Brahmin wo- 
man was on her way across the great ocean to that country 
where not only man but also w^oman enjoys a free exist- 
ence. She carried official letters from me to all American 
authorities with which she might come in contact, also to 
the mayor of Philadelphia, and to the state department at 
Washington. Before leaving Calcutta she delivered an ex- 
tempore address before a large audience at the University 
of Serampoor, of which address I have made the following 
extracts : 

"I am asked hundreds of questions about my going to 
America. I take this opportunity to answer some of them. 

I go to America because I wish to study medicine. I now 
address the ladies present here, who will be the better judg- 
es of the importance of female medical assistance in India. 
I never consider this subject without being impressed that 
none of those societies so laudably established in India for 
the promotion of science and female education have ever 
thought of sending one of their female members into the 
more civilized parts of the world to procure thorough medi- 
cal knowledge, in order to open here a college for the in- 
struction of women in medicine. The want of female 
physicians in India is keenly felt in every quarter. Ladies, 
both European and native, are naturally averse to expose 
themselves in cases of emergency to treatment by doctors 
of the other sex. There are some female doctors in India 



266 Story of an Emigrant. 

from Europe and America, who, being foreigners, and dif- 
ferent in manners,customs and language, have not been of such 
use to our women as they might. As it is very natural that 
Hindoo ladies who love their ownconntry and people should 
not feel at home with the natives of the other countries, we 
Inci m women absolutely derive no benefit from these for- 
eign ladies. They indeed have the ajjpearance of supplying 
our need, but the appearance is delusive. In my humble 
opinion there is a growing need for Hindoo lady doctors in 
India, and I volunteer to qualify m\^self for one. 

Are there no means to study in India? I do not mean to 
say there are no msans, but the difficulties are many and 
great. There is one college at Madras, and midwifery class- 
es are open in all the presidencies; but the education im- 
parted is defective and insufficient, as the instructors are 
conservative, and to some extent jealous. I do not find fault 
with them. That is the character of the male sex. We 
must put up with this inconvenience until we have a class of 
educated ladies to relieve these men. I am neither a Chris 
tian nor a Brahmin. To continue to live as a Hindoo, and 
go to school in any part of India, is very difficult. A con- 
vert who wears an English dress is not so much stared at. 
Native Christian ladies are free from the opposition or pub- 
lic scandal which Hindoo ladies like myself have to meet 
within and without the Zenana. If 1 go alone by train or 
in the street some people come near to stare and ask im- 
pertinent questions to annoy me. Example is better than 
precept. Some few years ago. when I was in Bombay, I used 
to go to school. When people saw me going with my books 
in my hand they had the goodness to put their heads out 
of the window just to have a look at me. Some stopped 
their carriages for the purpose. Others walking in the 
streets stood laughing, and crying out so that I could hear: 
" What Is this? Who is this lady who is going to school 



Story of an Emigrant. 267 

with boots and stockings on? " Does not this show that 
the Kali Ugla has stamped its character on the minds of the 
people? Ladies and gentlemen, you can easily imagine what 
effect questions like this would have on your minds if you 
had been in my place! 

Once it happened that I was obliged to stay in school for 
some time, and go twice a day for my meals to the house of 
a relative. Passers-by, whenever they saw me going, gath- 
ered round me. Some of them made fun and w^ere convulsed 
with laughter. Others, sitting respectably on their veran- 
das, made ridiculous remarks, and did not feel ashamed to 
throw pebbles at me. The shop-keepers and venders spit at 
the sight of me, and made gestures too indecent to describe. 
I leave it to you to imagine what was my condition at such 
time, and how I could gladly have burst through the crowd 
to make my home nearer. 

Yet the boldness of my Bengali brethren cannot be exceded, 
and is still more serious to contemplate than the instances 
I have given from Bombay. Surely it deserves pity. If I 
go to take a walk on thestrand, Englishmen are not so bold 
as to look at me. Even the soldiers are never troublesome, 
but the Baboo boys* have their levity by making fun of everv- 
thing. " Who are you ? " " What caste do you belong to? " 
"Whence do you come? " "Where do you go? " — are in my 
opinion, questions that should not be asked by strangers. 
There are some educated native Christians herein Serampoor 
who are suspicious; they are still wondering whether I am 
married or a widow; a woman of bad character or excom- 
municated. Dear audience, does it become my native and 
Christian brethren to be so uncharitable? Certainly not. 
I place these unpleasant things before you that those whom 
they concern mo.t may rectify them, and that those who 

•Educated Hindoo of the middle class. 



268 Story of an Emigrant. 

have never tliouglit of the difficulties may see that I am not 
going to America through any whim or caprice. 

Shall I not be excommunicated when I return to India? 
Do yon think I should be filled with consternation at this 
threat ? I do not fear it in the least. Why should I be cast 
out, when I have determined to live there exactly as I do 
here? I propose to myself to make no change in my customs 
and manners, food or dress. I will go as a Hindoo and 
come back here to live as a Hindoo. I will not increase my 
wants, but be as plain and simple as my forefathers, and as 
I am now. If ray countrymen wish to excommunicate me, 
why do they not do it now? They are at liberty to do so." 

After my return to America I visited her twice at the med- 
ical college in Philadelphia, where she became everybody's 
favorite, being one of the best students that ever crossed the 
threshhold of the institution. She did not renounce her re- 
ligion or her habits of life, but observed all of these strictly. 
After three years of hard study she passed her examination 
with high standing, and practiced a few months in Ameri- 
can hospitals, but she gradually succumbed to the dread 
disease, pulmonary consumption, and returned to India af- 
ter an absence of four years, only to die in Poonah, the city 
where her ancestors had lived as highly respectable people 
for tw^o thousand years past. She left India with the curse 
of the Brahmins on her head, but returned as the idol of her 
people. Thousands upon thousands crowded around her 
home, almost v^orshiping the frail, noble being whose youth- 
ful life w^as slowly ebbing away. 

Strange are the ways of Providence. When Rev. Dr. Fjell- 
stedt kindled a desire to see India in the bosom of the young 
country boy, who could then have guessed that this boy was 
to become a medium to assist that Brahmin woman who 
was destined to be the first one of the millions of India to 



Story of an Emigrant. 26» 

clear the way to education and liberty for lier unfortunate 
sisters ! 

Besides my report on wheat culture I sent numerous of- 
ficial reports to our government on different industries, and 
other matters in India, such as tea cvilture, the decline of 
American shipping in Asia, the railroads, the population of 
India, our commercial relations with India, etc. These re- 
ports attracted such attention in Washington that during 
the month of February, 1883, I received orders from the 
state department to make a tour of inspection to tho.se 
provinces and cities which belonged to my district and re- 
port to the government anj^thing of national interest. 
Shortly after receiving this order, which was accompanied 
by a leave of absence for six months, I also received a cable- 
gram from Holland offering me the position of managing 
American director of the Maxwell Land Grant Company in 
New Mexico, whereof more hereafter. 

On the 12th of April I turned over all my official affairs to 
the vice-consul, Mr. C. C. Bancroft, and took the steamer 
Raipatoonahfor Burmah, where I visited the most important 
seaports, Rangoon, Mulmain, and .\kjab. Buddhism is there 
the prevailing religion, and the caste system, such as is found 
among the Hindoos, is unknown. The people are more 
prosperous. The city of Rangoon has, among other nota- 
ble objects, a celebrated Buddhist pagoda, the great dome of 
which is covered with solid gold plate. The pagoda is sit- 
uated on a high elevation above the city, and the dome is 
one of the most notable and costly works of architecture in 
the world. It is visible at a great distance out on the ocean, 
and w^hen the tropical sun throws its rays on it, it looks like 
a flame offire, whose splendor is too dazzling for the eyes to 
endure. 

At a dinner party arranged for me by the American con- 
sul at Rangoon, I met many of the prominent men in this 



270 



Story of an Emigrant. 



city. Among these a judge of the supreme court, one Mr. 
Allen, who, late in the evening, at a game of whist, informed 
me that he had on that day been engaged in the trial of a 
Birmese prince accused of murder, and that he should pro- 
nounce sentence the following day. I could see that he had 
already made up his mind; still he politely asked me a few 
questions on international law with reference to the trial. 
The next day the prince was sentenced to death because he 
had violated the law of the land, which seems to prove that 
the English administration of justice in Asia is no respecter 
of persons. 
In Birmah elephants are used for loading and unloading 




ELEPHANTS I'lLING TIMBER. 



goods in the harbors. In the city of Mulmain I saw some 
of these wise animals piling up heavy timber in a lumber 
yard. The elephant put his tusks under the beam and his 
trunk over it and handled it with great ease. Having 
lifted the beam on the pile, he looked at it carefully to see 
if it lay in right shape, and if not, he would move it 
with his trunk. It was wonderful to see how well these 



Story of an Emigrant. 



271 




animals seemed to understand what their drivers said. If a 
very big log could not be moved in the usual manner he 
would roll it with his feet or shove it with his head, or even 
put a chain around it and pull it along, and all this at the 
command of the driver who remained sitting on the head of 
the animal. 

On April 25 I again embarked, this time on the steamer 
Asia, sailing across the Bay of Bengal, and arrived on the 
first day of May at the 
seaport, Bimlipatam, on 
the Madras coast. It 
was a pleasant city of 
white houses, and situ- 
ated at the foot of a high 
volcano. Here I saw for 
the first time the notori- 
ous car of Juggernaut, in 
w^hich the image of the 
god is dragged through 
the streets. The car is 
of stupendous size, and 
rests on sixteen wheels. 
Thousands of pilgrims 
followed the car, and 
formerly many of the 
worshipers used to 

throw themselves under the car of juggernaut. 

the wheels in order to be crushed to death ; but this bar- 
baric custom has been prohibited by the English govern- 
ment. The idol of Juggernaut is regarded as very sacred, 
for according to tradition it contains a bone of Krishna, 
the Hindoo Apollo, one of the ten incarnations or manifesta- 
tions of the god Vishnu. This relic worship,which is otherwise 
unknown to the orthodox Hindoo faith, is a remnant of 




272 



Story of an Emigrant. 



Buddhism, which formerly prevailed throughout the whole 
province of Orisa. 

On the second day v^e arrived at Kokonada, where a 
flotilla of nearly one hundred short-masted sailing vessels of 
native construction arter having received their cargoes lay 
waiting for us. Again we steamed away along the coast, 
stopping at the seaports Kalingapatam, Vizagapatara. 
Masulipatam, and finally arrived at Madras, on the fifth of 

" ^ ^ 




BUDDHA TEMPLE AT CEYLON. 

May. This is one of the handsomest cities in Asia. It is 
situated near the equator, so that it is very hot there; but 
the fresh ocean breezes cool the air in the afternoon, and 
make the temperature particularly delightful. 

On the 10th of May I left with the steamer Assam for 
Ceylon, and arrived at Colombo, the principal city and har- 
bor on this island, on the 13th. Ceylon is called the pearl of 
of Asia, and justly so. I remained there two days, in the 
company of the American consul, and visited the cinnamon 
groves, the Buddhistic temples, and other objects of Interest. 



Story of an Emigrant. 273 

Alon^ the coast south of Colombo is a drive-wa}' for several 
miles, passino;^ through groves of cinnamon and other spice 
trees which fill the air with fragrance. Thete are also arti- 
ficial lakes, canals, parks and flower gardens in endless pro- 
fusion; in a word, this place is one of the most delightful 
spots I have ever seen. 

The Egyptian patriot Arabi Pasha was recently banished 
to this island on account of his taking such a prominent part 
in the late rebellion in bgypt. I drove out to his fine resi- 
dence located near the sea, and found him to be a very 
pleasant and highly educated man, who spoke English fluent- 
ly, and with whom I soon became on friendly terms on ac- 
count of m\' sympatli}' ior the Egyptian people. 

Ceylon is the centre of modern Buddhism in India. The 
temples of the Buddhists are very interesting to see. Many 
of their priests are men of learning and culture. I spent a 
few hours with them, and received much attention on their 
part on account of my being a representative of America. 
There is an old tradition among the Hindoos that the gar- 
den of Eden was situated on the island of Ceylon. The 
Hindoo narrative of the fall of man has many features in 
common with the biblical narrative, but with this difference: 
that Adam, being reproached for his sins, did not, according 
to the Hindoo legend, put the blame on Eve, but took it all 
on himself, and said that he alone was to blame, and that 
the woman should not be cursed. It is further told that 
when they were expelled from paradise they turned their 
course northward, and when they came to the shallow water 
which separates Ceylon from the main land of Asia, Adam 
took Eve in his arms and carried her across 

Having remained two days at this delightful place we em- 
barked again, and on the 20th of May we were steaming 
along the coast of Arabia, being within sight of land the 
whole morning. In my note-book I find the following lines 



274 Story of an Emigrant. 

for this day: "Under thick canvass there is a strangely 
mixed crowd of people on the half-deck, gathered for divine 
worship, and when they closed the same by singing: 

'0, hear us as we cry to Thee 
For those in peril on the sea,' 

the voices of Mohammedans, Jews, Buddhists and Brahmins 
from a dozen diflerent countries were blended with those of 
the Christians." 

We spent the 22d of Alny in the city of Aden, in South 
Arabia. This place is hot and dreary. Accompanied by one 
of my fellow-passengers I took a ride on camel-back through 
the desert to the celebrated water reservoirs. It seldom 
rains more than once in every three years at this place. To 
preserve the water that falls on these occasions the Arabi- 
ans have built a series of cisterns, or large reservoirs, for the 
water along the foot of a mountain. These cisterns are 
made with great architectural skill ; they are built of stone 
and cement, and are much more compact and durable than 
similar works of modern times. Water is a great luxury in 
Southern Arabia, and it is customary to offer the driver a 
drink of water for his camel or horse as an encourage- 
ment to drive a little faster or to show him a favor. At the 
same time the driver does not object to a tip, which in ori- 
ental countries is called, as in E'J'ypt, "backshish," an ex- 
pression with which every traveler soon becomes familiar. 

From Aden we had a pleasant voj^age up the Red sea to 
Suez. The cholera was, so to speak, in the air, and our 
steamer was the last one which escaped quarantine. From 
Suez I traveled in company with some other passengers by 
rail to Cairo. We stopped an hour at the little city Ismailia, 
which is situated on the canal, and is a fine place, noted es- 
pecially for the great fete given by Count F. de Lesseps at 
the opening of the Suez canal, for which occasion a fine pal- 
ace was built for the accommodation of Empress Eugenie of 



Story of an Emigrant. 275 

France. On the wa}'- to Cairo we passed through the valley 
which in the bible is called Goshen, and which Pharaoh 
gave to the brothers of Joseph to live in, and where the 
brick yards are located in w^hich the Israelites were com- 
pelled to make brick without straw and oppressed in dif- 
ferent ways by their task-masters. 

During the day I had occasion to see a portion of the 
canal "Bahr Jussuf," or Joseph's canal, a masterwork some 
four thousand years old, which the legend ascribes to Jo- 
seph, and which still proves what a blessing this man con- 
ferred upon the peopleof Egypt, not onl\^ by warding off the 
dread famine, but also by executing many great and useful 
works. The canal began at Siut, on the Nile, and mean- 
dered through the valley on the west side of the river for a 
distance of nearly two hundred and fifty miles, until its lev- 
el was so far above that of the river that its waters could be 
carried westward into the province of Fajuin, and change its 
formerly sterile soil into the richest and most fertile fields. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Cairo— Clieop's Pyramid— Venice— The St. Gotthard Tunnel— On the Rhine 
— Visit in Holland and England — Father Nugent — Arrival at New York. 



The train has stopped, and we are in Cairo, the capital of 
Egypt. The beautiful, the joyous, the memorable Cairo, 
with its gorgeous mosques, its half mystic, half historical 
monuments, its narrow streets, and a life, a commotion and 
an oriental splendor strong!}^ reminding one of the legends 
"One Thousand and One Nights." In company with afriend 
from America I visited the principal mosques, bazars, parks 
and other places of interest, and the next day we drove out 
to the great Cheop's pyramid, which is located about eight 
miles from the city. Here I again met with a monument of 
antiquity which filled me with wonder and admiration. The 
pyramid of Cheops was built before the birth of Moses, — yes, 
before Jacob came down with his sons to Egypt, — and it is 
possible that Joseph pointed out the same to his aged father 
as a proof of the greatness of the country and its resources. 

According to Herodotus one hundred and twenty thou- 
sand men were occupied twenty yearsinbuildingit. Its base 
covers about eleven acres, and its height is about four hun- 
dred and eighty feet. One can get an approximate idea of 
the enormous mass of material in it, w^hen it is calculated 
that it contains stone enough to build a wall one and a-half 
f_et thick and ten feet high around all England, — a distance of 
nearly nine hundred miles. 



276 



278 



Story of an Emigrant. 



The renowned Sphinx is hewn out of the solid rock. It is 
in a reclining position, and, although partly buried by sand, 
I could easily trace its back for a distance of thirty paces. 

At the foot of the pyramid I met an Arabian chief, a gest- 
ure from whom showed me that he belonged to the mystic 
brotherhood of Free Masons, which gave rise to warm hand- 
shaking, and an interesting conversation through the aid oi 
my interpreter. In pressing the hand of this son of the desert 
sighing under despotism, and reading the feelings of his 
heart through the wrinkles of his face, while he talked of the 
great country in the West, whence I came, and whose free 
institutions, granting equal rights to all, were to him a 




THE PYRAMIDS AND THE SPHINX. 



heavenly light pointing forward and upward, T felt more deep- 
ly than ever belbre what a blessing it is to be a citizen of a 
commonwealth where a man is measured, not by his birth 
or his wealth, but by his own personal merits. 

Returning to Cairo the remainder of the day was spent in 
the Boulak museum, among the most wonderful antiquities 



Story of an Emigrant. 



279 



of the world. Shortly before there had been discovered in 
the Nubian hills, beneath the temple Dayr-el-Baheree, a 
burial place containing the bodies of the old Egyptian kings. 
These had been brought to Cairo, where a separate wing of 
of the museum had been opened for their keeping, and there 
they lay in their coffins in a fine state of preservation, owing 
to the Egyptian method of embalming. There were the very 
men who built the pyramids; there was Amases I., the 
founder of the new empire, Thotmes III., the great Sethi I., 




RAMSES n., WHEN YOUNG. 



and his famous son Ramses II., and that Pharaoh who is 
supposed to have brought up Moses; there was also his 



280 



Story of an Emigrant. 



daughter MirrLis, who afterward became his queen, the 
same who found Moses as an infant floating in the Nile. 

Tiieir bodies — yes, even their features — were well preserved. 
Thev lie in coffins of wood, which show^ skilled workmanship, 
the corners being carelully dovetailed together. Even their 
shrouds and ornaments of flowers and herbs show pkiinly 




RAMSES n. 



that the style of dressing the dead among the Egyptians 
four thousand years ago was very much the same as it is 
now with us. 
"When I stood among the ruins of Pompeii or of the tower 



Story of an Emigrant. 



281 



Sarnath, the home of Buddha, I thought nothing could be 
more wonderful tind awe-inspiring than those hoarj monu 
ments; but here lay before my ej^es the very man who for 
many years was a friend and protector of Moses, with his 
wonderful, commanding features and eagle nose, his long 
dark hair, which lay in thick folds under his neck. The arms, 
rings, jewels and other ornaments worn by those kings and 
their queens, formed part of this wonderful collection, and, 




NILE BOAT. 



by their skillful workmanship, showed the high degree of 
civilization of the ancient Egyptians. 

The following day I took the train for Alexandria. The 
railroad follows the river Nile in its general course. The 
valley is densely populated, and wretched mud houses and 
villages appear in ever\^ direction. The cholera had now 
broken out in its. most deadly form, and we saw many dead 
and dying at the stations. The steamer Tanjore lay ready 
to sail for Europe, and I was soon comfortably quartered in 
one of its spacious cabins. 



282 



Story of ax Emigrant. 



On Sunday, June 3d, a beautiful Italian day, as we were 
rapidly steaming north through the Adriatic sea, we could 
see the coast of Greece to the right and that of Italy to the 
left. We arrived at Brindisi the same afternoon, and at 
Venice two davs later. Surely the beauties of nature and of 
art that meet the eye in thi.^ lovely city seem to be the climax 
of everything beautiful on earth, and, quietly gliding forward 
during many hours through numerous canals in a half- 
dreamy, hall-waking condition, with two silent gondoliers 




RIALTO BRIDGE IN VE>aCE. 

at the oars, I could scarcely realize whether this was a beau- 
tiful dream, an illus-ion, or reality. 

The next morning, accompanied by an interpreter, I walked 
through St. Mark's square, carefully studying its many 
wonderful attractions, its splendid shops, the clock, the 



Story of an Emigrant. 283 

thousands of tame doves, the belfry of St. Mark's, the pal- 
ace of the Doges, the marble pillars of the winged lions, and 
finally, the most remarkable of all, the wonderful church 
with its irregular, yet harmonious, unique and impressive 
architecture. In the church were seen ordinary visitors 
roaming about under the domes, humble worshipers count- 
ing their beads and rosaries, closely-shaved monks and royal 
officers with clanging sabres, and artists busy with their 
studies. 

With a shudder I crossed the Bridge of Sighs, with its hor- 
rid associations, and spent a quarter of an hour in the dark 
dungeons to which it leads, and in which so many poor 
mortals, prisoners often without accusers and guiltless of 
crime, had sighed and suffered through the cruelties of man 
to man, well knowing that when they crossed that bridge 
into the dungeon, they had left all earthly hope behind. 

In Venice I parted with my American companion, Mr. 
Robins, in whose company I had traveled all the way from 
Madras. 

Having promised to be in Holland at an early day, I was 
compelled to hurry, and left Venice on the evening of the 
second day. This time I took the route through the St. 
Gotthard tunnel, which is nine and a half miles long-, and 
through which it takes nearly half an hour to pass. The 
beautiful lake Como and the grand Alpine scener^^ have been 
so often described, that I consider it superfluous to dwell on 
them in these pages. 

In Maj'cnnes I left the railroad and took the steamer down 
the beautiful Rhine to Cologne, passing the vine-clad hills 
and the mediaeval castles, in delightful conversation with 
some American and Swedish tourists just returning from the 
German watering places. 

From Cologne I traveled by rail to Rotterdam, where I 
arrived June 9th, and met my old friend, G. P. Ittman, one 



284f Story of an Emigrant. 

of the men with whom I formerly had business connections 
eonLcrning railroad matters in Minnesota. The following 
day he accompanied me to the Hague to see Baron de Con- 
stant Rebeque, one of those European noblemen who would 
have been a noble man even if he had been born in a hut. He 
was then chamberlain of the king, and one of the directors 
of the Maxwell Land Grant Company, the management of 
which had been offered to me as already stated. 

The next day we all met at the office of the vice-president 
of the company, the banker Mr. W. F. Ziegelar. The board 
of directors held a meeting, at which I was elected business 
manager for America, and it was decided that Messrs. 
Ziegelar and Rebeque should meet me in America a month 
later, and that all of us should then proceed to New Mexico 
to inspect the property and investigate the economical 
standing of the company, after which I could decide wheth- 
er I would accept the position or not. 

A few days later Mr. Ziegelar accompanied me to London, 
where one of the directors and manj'- of the creditors of the 
Maxwell Company resided. Here I also found some friends 
from India, and in their company spent a couple of days at 
the beautiful country residence of an English nobleman. Sir 
Balfour. Among the prominent and excellent men with 
whom I formed an acquaintance at that place was Maj. 
Horace Durrant, formerly of the queen's hussars, who was 
also largely interested in the Maxwell Company, and one of 
the men from different countries, nationalities and creeds 
who will always live in my memory like beaming stars on 
life's varied journey. 

Soon afterward I renewed my acquaintance with John 
Ennis in Liverpool, an Irishman, and a friend of mine for 
more than twenty years. He is a man who is never happier 
than when he can do someone a favor, and he has had oc- 
casion to do me many. In the evening he took me out to 



Story of an Emigrant. 285 

see a sight, as he called it, and truly a wonderful sight it 
was. In a vacant space among the back streets and alleys 
of Liverpool, near the shipping, stood erected an enormous 
tent, containing seats for three thousand people. My friend 
Ennis led me through the back entrance onto the platform, 
where a few ladies and gentlemen were already seated. The 
tent was lighted with gas; the people were crowding in- 
to it through half a dozen different entrances. I have never 
seen such a crowd before or since. There were thieves, pick- 
pockets, beggars, prostitutes, drunkards and ragamuffins of 
both sexes and of all ages, the very slums and filth of that 
great seaport, laughing, shouting, cursing, weeping, and 
noisy in every way. 

Soon the great tent was filled, and could contain no more. 

Then a little man appeared on the pUitform, whom Mr. 
Enms introduced to me as the Rev. Father Nugent, an Irish 
Catholic priest, very small in stature, but with a coun- 
tenance beaming with intelligence and benevolence. He 
stepped to the front, and the moment he was seen by the 
vast audience order and perfect silence reigned. 

Here was another Keshub-Chu«der-Sen, but w^ith no new 
religion or doctrine to advance, only re-echoing what the 
man of Nazareth had said to the same class of people eigh- 
teen centuries ago. This priest has done much noble work, 
rescued many from a life of degradation, brought up and 
secured places in America for thousands of street gamins and 
orphans, and his name is better known, especially among 
the English-speaking Catholics, than that of any king or 
emperor. And who would not rather be a Father Nugent than 
a king ? 

In the morning of the fourth of July I arrived in New York 
city, and soon found President Chester Arthur, Gen . Garfield's 
successor, occupying rooms near my own in the Fifth Ave- 
nue hotel. After breakfast I was given an interview with 



286 



Story of an Emigrant. 



him, and, of course, was pleased to learn that he had fol- 
lowed my little work in India with interest, and expressed 
much regret when I informed him of my intention to resign 
at the expiration of my leave of absence. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Home from India — A Friendly Reception— Journey to New Mexico— The 
Maxwell Land Grant Company — Renewed Visits to England and Hol- 
land — Re-elected Secretary of State — Visit of the Swedish Officers in 
Minneapolis and St. Paul — Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of 
the Landing of the First Swedes in Delaware. 



On the 8th of July I was again home with family and 
friends in Minneapolis, and found everything pretty much as 
I had left it nearly two years previously, except that my good 
old father had gone to his final rest. A couple of days later I 
visited my farm, in the Red River valley, and my old and 
faithful friend Capt. H. Eustrom, who lived close by and 
was then holding an important office, and who had faithful- 
ly attended to my interests at that place duxing my absence. 

My Scandinavian friends had meanwhile arranged a re- 
ception for me, and on the 11th some eighty of them joined 
in a banquet at Lyndale Hotel, then situated in the suburbs 
of Minneapolis at Lake Calhoun. The afternoon was devoted 
to a steamboat tour around the beautiful lake, and in the 
evening the party all sat down to a sumptuous banquet, 
where many addresses of welcome flnd tokens of friendship 
were spoken, read and sung. I had been absent nearly two 
years, seen and experienced much of the world and enjoyed 
many pleasures, but I found the old saying true; "There is 
no place like home." These two years had been of particular 

287 



288 Story of an Emigrant. 

importance in the history of the cities of Minneapolis and St. 
Paul. The population had nearly trebled during that time, 
and such improvements had been made that I could hardly 
recognize them, 

A week after my return my friends from Holland arrived, 
and we proceeded to New Mexico, where w^e found the great 
Maxv^ell estate, valued at ten million dollars, and containing 
one and a half million acres of land, consisting of coal fields, 
gold mines, timber and grazing lands, in a deplorable condi- 
tion caused by extravagance and mismanagement. We found 
that there w&s nearly a million dollars of current debts, 
while the income was not sufficient to buy postage stamps to 
carry on the necessary business correspondence. 

An agreement was finally effected whereby the former pres- 
ident and American manager relinquished his interest and 
resigned his position ; the Holland directors determined to 
raise the necessary funds in Europe, and I agreed to under- 
take the liquidation of the affairs of the company. 

Shortly after I repaired to Washington to report my in- 
spection tour in India, and tender my resignation, which was 
accepted, an unusual courtesy being shown me by ex- 
tending my leave of absence to January the next year. The 
following two years were devoted principally to business 
journeys to New Mexico, England and Holland. I visited 
the latter countries four times duringthat period. With the 
powerful aid of Baron Rebeque, who had spent several 
months with me in this country in the summer and fall of 
1883, a syndicate, backed by several million dollars, was at 
last formed in Holland, and the whole estate was turned 
over to it. Having accomplished this, I voluntarily with- 
drew from the concern, and returned to my own farm and 
home in Minnesota. 

The Maxwell estate is situated within the Rocky moun- 
tain region, on an elevation of from six thousand to twelve 



Story of an Emigrant. 289 

thousand feet above the sea. The climate is delightful and 
the scenery beautiful, but the country is not fit for cultiva- 
tion, except such parts as can be irrigated. Hence most of 
it is devoted to stock raising, and herds of countless cattle 
were roaming over the prairies, the Maxwell Company alone 
owning at the time I left its service nearly twenty thousand 
head. 

In the fall of 1886 I was for the second time elected secre- 
tary of state by the citizens of Minnesota, re-elected in 1888^ 
and thus made for the third time the head of the state de- 
partment. 

In the fall of 1887 the citizens of Minneapolis were hon- 
ored by a visit from a large number of Swedish, Norwegian 
and Danish military officers, non-commissioned officers and 
soldiers. They arrived by an express train from Chicago, 
and were met at the union depot by thousands of people. 
The Swedish Guard, Normanna Infantry, and the society 
Dania were paraded outside the depot building. The guests 
were received by a committee, and conducted in procession 
through the illuminated and crowded streets to Dania hall, 
where a splendid banquet w^as enjoyed, while music was dis- 
coursed by the Svea and Normanna bands. The city mayor, 
Dr. Ames, made an address of welcome, after which several 
Scandinavians made speeches. I had been elected as the 
spokesman for the Swedes, and expressed myself as follows: 

" Honored Guests from Sweden, Norway and Denmark : 
• "From the place where we now stand the roar of the St. Anthony falls 
may be heard through the still night. You are, therefore, far back in the 
depths of the American West ; and yet this is only the modern gate of en- 
trance to the great North-west. 

"A couple of hours ago a half dozen railway trains left our depot over 
different roads and are now^ speeding on toward the setting sun, and some 
of them do not cease their journey until they have passed distances greater 
than that between London and Rome, through fertile, but, as yet, mostly 
unsettled regions. Thirty-four years ago I, with a few other of your 

countrymen, some of the earliest in Minnesota, gazed for the fijst time at 
19 



Story of an Emigrant. 291 

the St. Anthony falls. There was no city, not even a sign of a city, on this 
side of the river; the red man chased his game in the woods w^here our 
churches and school houses now stand ; the country'- v^^est of us was an un- 
known wilderness, Minnesota did not exist as a state, and many of our 
western states, which now contain millions of happy inhabitants, were not 
even projected. 

"Now, on the contrary, our state alone is a mighty empire, with a pop- 
ulation of nearly a million and a half, and with an assessed valuation of 
six hundred million dollars. Minnesota now produces a hundred million 
bushels of grain annually on her fertile fields, six hundred and fifty million 
feet of lumber from her forests, and her infatit iron mines already show^ an 
annual production of half a million tons of rich ore The Scandinavians 
constitiite more than one-fourth of the population of the state, and pro- 
duce at least one-third of our agricultural products on the'r own lands, 
as most of them are farmers. The amount of grain which in Minnesota 
alone is annually produced, would be more than sufficient to furnish the 
w^hole population of Sweden with bread from the beginning to the end of 
gach year. 

" Our beautiful city of Minneapolis has already a population of one htin- 
dred and sixty thousand, of which at least one-fourth, or forty thousand, 
are Scandinavians or their descendants. 

"I hope 3^ou will all have an opportimity to see our city with your owm 
eyes before you leave us, — its tnills, churches, schools and happy homes, — 
and will therefore not consume the time by referring to these. 

"As to yovu'selves. gentlemen, we have heard what has been said to you 
so expressively in Chicago by our iriends there, and we join them heartily 
in their praise. 

"When we heard that the soldiers and representatives of Denmark, Nor- 
way and Sweden would honor us with a visit we all rejoiced, and we have 
come together this evening to express our joy in a cojdial welcome. 

" We have intentionally conducted you to this hall where we may, tinder 
our own roof, paA^ you our homage in the plain manner of our sturdy 
Scandinavian forefathers, and give you an opportunit}' to see us as we are 
in our daily life. We are men of the people; we have come here as poor im. 
migrants, ignorant of the language and of the customs of thecoi-ntry. Our 
sole heritage v^'as our strong arms and our good cheer, — no, excuse me, an- 
other heritage of more worth than gold or genius have we brought from 
our old homesteads, — our share of Northern fidelity, strength, and virtue; 
and the talent confided to us we have used in all branches of industry, sci- 
ence, fine arts, in the service of the community, the state, and the Union, 
in peace and in war, and we perform our share in the great national work, 
the result of whit h is a new and powerful commonwealth, the foundation 
of which lies in the individual worth and right of man. 

" 1 think I can s<ea Providential dispensation in this, that when the time 



292 Story of an Emigrant, 

arrived for the new world to take its place among tbe nations with a new 
and powerful cosmopolitan race, the Scandinavian people were also chosen 
to contribute a part in that grand work, and that it was especially reserved 
for the 'men of the people' to receive in this country free and equal oppor- 
tunity for their development. Who can fail to see the stamp of the Scandi- 
navian people on the entire social fabric of the new world ? 

"We would be forgetful if we did not gratefully remember the great good 
which the fatherland has bestowed upon us from tender childhood to the 
very hour when we bid it farewell ; we would be unworthy of the name and 
fame of our fathers if we did not honor and love as a dear mother the ever 
memorable land of our birth, and you, its worthy representatives, as our 
relatives and brothers. 

"Your presence amongus is a proud event, and its remembrance shall be 
cherished as one of the most pleasant. And when you return to those dear 
places where we took the first steps on life's eventful journey, we wish you 
to take back cordial greetings from us all, and say to our kindred that we 
teach our children to love and honor the people and institutions in the 
Northern lands, although they have never seen them ; and say to them that, 
far out in the wide West by the laughing water of Hiawatha, and hundreds 
of miles beyond, are friends and brothers whose fidelity and aflfection neither 
time nor distance can obliterate." 

The address was responded to with much feeling by Col. 
Liljehok of Sweden. The festivities continued amid address- 
es, music and song until long past midnight. The following 
day the guests were shown around the city, after which they 
visited St. Paul, where they also received a cordial welcome, 
and were presented to the governor. 

The following year, on the 14th of September, an event 
took place which deserves particular mention. It was the 
celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of 
the landing of the first Swedish settlers on the Delaware. 
The Revs. J. Enstam and C. J. Petri, together with myself, 
in the middle of the summer called a meeting of Swedish- 
American citizens to prepare for such celebration. Commit- 
tees were appointed and elaborate preparations made, to 
which nearly all the Swedes lent a willing a^d helping hand. 
The great exposition building was given up to our use; 
bands of music were engaged, a choir of one hundred and 



Story of an Emigrant. 293 

fifty Swedish singers, mostly from the different churches, 
was trained, and eminent orators, statesmen and professors 
were invited. A souvenir badge was sold at the Sw^edish 
business places in the city; the net proceeds, — amounting to 
about eight hundred dollars, — were donated to the fund for 
therelief of the sufferers by the great fires in Sundsvall, Ume^ 
and Lilla Edet in Sweden. 

The program of the day included a fine parade with bands 
of music and banners; but a heavy rain came early in the 
day, and the parade had to be abandoned, and the people in- 
structed to assemble at the exposition building at their own 
convenience, which they also did, in such great numbers that 
before the hour of opening the exercises every seat and stand- 
ing place in the great auditorium were occupied. Many 
came from distant tow^ns, cities and states; a special train 
brought nearly one thousand from St. Paul, with marshals, 
music and banners; the general council of the Lutheran Church, 
then assembled in Minneapolis, came in a body and occupied 
seats on the platform to the right of Cappa's Seventh New 
York Regiment Band, while the Swedish chorus of one hun- 
dred and fifty voices, under Prof. Norman, occupied the plat- 
form to the left. 

The platforms were decorated with numerous society ban- 
ners, and the colors of Sweden were seen everywhere. The 
lofty pillars reaching to the roof w^ere wrapped in alternate 
stripes of blue and yellow, the national colors of Sweden, 
and side by side and uppermost were the stars and stripes. 
A large picture of the old Swedes Church in Wilmington, 
Delaware, built in 1698, was himg in front of the speakers' 
platform, and attracted general attention. 

As chairman of the committee of arrangements I had the 
honor to act as presiding officer of the day. The govern- 
ment of Sweden was represented by Consul Sahlgaard, with 
other distinguished guests, and the historical society of 



294 



Stukv 01-' AS Eaixgka\t. 



Delaware by Maj. Geo. Q. White. As near as can be esti- 
mated there were fully fifteen thousand people present, 
and the interest manifested by that vast audience can best 
be understood from the fact that thousands stood upon 
their feet during the whole proceedings, which lasted three 
hours. 




OLD SWKDES CHURCH AT WILMINGTON. 



The festivities commenced at two o'clock in the afternoon 
with a musical selection b^^ Cappa's band, at the close of 
wdiich the audience was welcomed by myself in the follow- 
ing words: 

" The discovery of America was the greatest event \\rhich had taken place 
from the days of Christ till it was made^ but the settlement of America 
by the right kind of people was, in its beneficial effects upon thehumanrace, 
a matter of still greater importance. It seems like an order of Divine Prov- 
idence that this new world was left in its natural or savage state during 
all the dark centurit s of schooling and experiments in Asia, Africa and Eu- 
rope, in order that it might remain a virgin soil for the higher civilization 
which was to follow. 

"To establish this civilization, based upon true principles of government 



Story of an Emigrant. 295 

required not only wisdom and strength, but toleration, brotherhood, jus- 
tice and exalted virtue. The people chosen for that great work came from 
different countries and different conditions of life, — the English Pilgrims to 
New England, the Dutch, the Swedes and the Quakers to the middle coun- 
try, the English Cavaliers, the Scotch Highlanders and the French Hugue- 
nots to the South, — and in them all, combined and intermingled, were found 
the elements of body and of mind, which have given to the world its best 
government, its greatest nation, and its highest civilization. 

" Since the English were the largest in number their language became the 
language of all, and for that reason, perhaps, history has been partial to 
those who first spoke it. Memorials and anniversaries have often been cel- 
ebrated over the landing of the Pilgrims and the valor of the knights; their 
just praise has been written and sung a thousand times, so that their hon- 
ored names have become precious household words among the generations 
of our day, while the others have often been forgotten or ignored. 

"Fully recognizing the merits of all, we have assembled here to-day from 
many parts of the United States to commemorate a great historical event, 
— in celebrating the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the landing of 
the Swedes on the Delaware, and to do honor to their memory in prayer, 
song and speech, and to this intellectual feast I bid you all a bearty wel- 
come. " 

This celebration was unquestionably the largest and most 
important gathering that ever took place among the Swedes 
in America ; great attention was paid to it all over the 
country, and it contributed greatly toward placing the 
Swedes rightly in the estimation of the people, throwing a 
clearer light on the achievements of the past, and empha- 
sizing the importance of the Swedish-Aifiericans of the pres- 
ent. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



The Causes of Immigration— American Influence on Europe, and Especially 
on Sweden — The Condition of the Swedes in America — American Charac- 

' teristics— Antipathy against Foreigners— The Swedish Press on America 
— American Heiresses. 



Much has been said on the causes of immigration. These 
are numerous, but the chief cause I have found to be that the 
people of the old world are now being aroused to the fact 
that the social conditions of Europe, with its aristocracy and 
other inherited privileges, are not founded on just princi- 
ples, but that the way to success ought to be equally open 
for all, and determined, not by privileges of birth, but by the 
inherent worth of man. And here in America is found a civ- 
ihzation which is, to a large extent, built on equality and the 
recognition of personal merit. Tliis and the great natural 
resources of the country, the prospects for good wages which 
a new continent affords, and in many cases greater religious 
liberty, draws the people of Europe, at any rate from Sweden, 
to this country. 

Sweden is a very good country, but more especially so for 
those who are fortunate enough to be born to title, hon- 
or or riches. To be sure, even there instances are known of 
men from the ordinary walks of life making their way to 
wealth and prominence; but those are exceptions, possible 
only in cases of unusually great personal merit. Here, on 
the other hand, the reverse is the rule ; the self-made man ac- 



Story of an Emigrant. 297 

complishes most, as instanced by the history of our presi- 
dents, governors, financiers and other distinguished men. 
And this is quite natural, for the prospects and possibilities 
■which a man sees before him in this country stimulate his 
ambition, and arouse his energies to surmount the greatest 
difficulties. 

The new ideas now permeating society in Europe, and 
which will gradually transform it, have, to a great extent, 
originated in America, more particularly the idea of brother- 
hood, the s^Miipathy with equals, the conviction that it is 
our duty to better the condition of our fellow-men, and not 
despise them, even if they arc unfortunate. In this respect, 
as well as in many others, America exerts a great influence 
over Europe. To me the better situated classes of Sweden 
seem short-sighted in their hostility to emigration, foraman 
of broad views must admit that emigration has been benefi- 
cial even to Sweden herself. It may not have benefited the 
higher classes directly, as they cannot hire servants and la- 
borers as cheaply as formerly ; but the people have benefited 
by it as a whole, their condition being now better than for- 
merly, when competition between the laborers was greater. 

America also exerts a great influence on the mental and 
moral development of the people of Sweden, although this 
may not be so apparent on the surface. The thousands and 
hundreds of thousands of letters written every year by Swed- 
ish-Americans to the people of the working classes of 
Sweden arouse the latter's ambition, and develop liberal, 
political and religious ideas among them. No one can cal- 
culate the scope of this influence, to say nothing of the elo- 
quent language spoken by the millions of crowns which are 
annually sent home to poor relatives and friends, and which 
either lighten the burden of poverty or enable the recipients 
to prepare a brighter future for themselves in this countr}^, 
and how many a poor, down-trodden fellow, who could ex- 



298 Story of an Emigrant. 

pect nothing better than the poor-house in his old age in 
Sweden has become an able and useful citizen in this country ! 

"When the poor young laboring man or woman, who in 
Sweden has felt the oppression of poverty and looked for- 
ward to a life without hope, arrives in this country, the 
timid, bashful looks give way to hopefulness and self-reliance. 
It is true that this is often carried too far, especially in the 
line of expensive and extravagant dress, which sometimes 
makes the wearer appear ridiculous; but these are trifles, 
the main thing being that those people learn to know their 
own worth, and are able to create a brighter future for them- 
selves. 

The tact and manner acquired within a short time by com- 
mon laborers who looked thoughtless and careless while at 
home, are simply astonishing. A Swedish diplomat, who 
visited Minnesota twenty years ago, and, among others, 
met one of his father's former farm laborers, w^ho was now 
in good circumstances, in an official report to the govern- 
ment of Svv-eden expressed his astonishment at the change 
which the Swedish people had undergone in that respect. 

It cannot be denied that many among the higher classes in 
Sweden feel very unfriendly toward the United States, and 
it was even not long ago a common saying among them> 
"America is the paradise of all rogues and rascals." 

Many Americans suppose themselves to be better than all 
others, and believe their country and institutions to be perfect. 
In this they are mistaken, for in several respects this country 
is as yet in its infancy, and has many defects which the coun- 
tries in the north of Europe have long since outgrown. As 
one instance I would mention that the school system is al- 
together too dependent on local influences, so that while the 
common schools in the northern cities and towns are very 
fine, — in some instances perfect, — those in the country rate 
very low compared v^ath the same class in Sweden, Norway, 



Story of an Emigrant. 299 

Denmark, and Northern Germany, Another case in point is 
the sj'stemof taxation which notably gives unprincipled men 
of wealth opportunities for escape, while the poorer classes 
are taxed for the full amount of their property, the burden 
thus falling proportionately heaviest where it ought to be 
lightest, and rice versa. Again, the laws which make pos- 
sible rings, monopolies, and trusts, to the great prejudice of the 
people, or permit gambling on the produce of the country as 
carried on in the great commercial marts of America, robbing 
the producer of the fair wages of his toil, and many other 
things which would not be tolerated among the nations of 
Europe. Thus it lies within the power of one man, in this our 
great stateof Minnesota and other states, to make orunmake 
cities, towns, and communities, by a single edict locating a 
railroad, fixing a time-table, and in many other waj'^s exer- 
cising arbitrary power that no European ruler would think 
of assuming. The execution of our laws, also, in many 
places has proven highly unsatisfactory, often making our 
much-boasted jury system, especially in criminal cases, a 
farce and a disgrace. 

The trouble is that political demagogues and Fourth of 
July orators continually keep pointing out only the best 
sides of our institutions, which undoubtedly are both manv 
and gi^eat, while few have the courage to speak of the de- 
fects and short-comings. 

As for the conduct of the native Americans toward the 
immigrants who settle among them, I venture to say that 
although they consider themselves very tolerant, and are so 
in a general way, they are in many respects very intolerant 
and prejudiced ; but this is owing to a lack of knowledge 
concerning other nations. It is true that the immigrant, es- 
pecially from the north of Europe, is bidden welcome, and is 
generally well received, but he is expected to be content with 
shoveling dirt, chopping w^ood, carrying water, plowing the 



300 Story of an Emigrant. 

fields, and doing other manual labor, no one disputing his 
right or his fitness for these occupations. But when he be- 
gins to compete with the native American for honor and 
emolument in the higher walks of Hfe, he is often met with 
coldness, mingled, perhaps, with a little envy, and although 
the adopted citizen may, in many instances, start on an 
equal footing with the natives in culture, intelligence, and 
business ability, it is only exceptionally that he will be recog- 
nized as an equal socially; and there is scarcely an adopted 
citizen of the non-English-speaking nationalities whohas not 
deeply realized the truth of this statement. 

It may be safely said that it will on an average take two 
generations before the children of the non-English-speaking 
immigrants shall cease to suffer more or less from these preju- 
dices. Certainly the children of immigrant parents, although 
born and brought up in this country, are often subjected to 
sneers and taunts by their more fortunate playfellows, even 
within the walls of the American public schools. 

This antipathy is most noticeable in places where the num- 
ber of foreigners is very great, but less where they are 
few, and may be explained and partly excused by the fact 
that, when a great number of foreigners live together they 
are more apt to maintain their customs, language and 
amusements, which differ from those of the native-born. 
But the chief reason is that when the immigrants, most of 
whom belong to the hard-working classes, arrive directly 
from a long and exhausting journey, they are often poorly 
dressed, awkward and ignorant of the language and customs 
of the country, and look forlorn and crestfallen. The first 
impression which the native American thus receives remains 
with him, while he does not stop to consider that the same 
class of people corning from America to Europe would not 
appear to better advantage if they should go there as immi- 
grants. Nor does he consider the injustice of judging whole 



Story of an Emigrant. 301 

nationalities by their less favored representatives tinder sucli 
circumstances. There are, of course, many noble exceptions 
among the native Americans ; but as to genuine tolerance 
between different nationalities, I have seen far more of it in 
the great cosmopolitan cities of Europe, Asia and Africa, 
than in America. 

But these shortcomings may be easily overlooked for the 
many noble traits of character which all admit him to possess 
And most striking and beautiful of these is the honor and 
respect he shows to woman. There is no other country in 
the world where woman is treated with such consideration, 
and where she is as safe and honored as among Americans, 
and if we judge nations by the way their women are treated, 
as I think we should, the American nation has no peer in the 
world. 

But if the Americans have a one-sided and wrong concep- 
tion of foreigners, so have also many foreign people a wrong 
conception of America, and we ought not to blame the former 
more than the latter. The Swedish press, for instance, — 
with praise-worthy exceptions, of course, — has always 
shown great prejudice orignorance in its treatment of Ameri- 
ca, and especially of the Swedish-Americans. Thus it has 
always been ready to dwell on the dark sides and keep silent 
about that which is praiseworthy in this country. If, for 
instance, a lawless deed has been perpetrated on the frontier 
it is pointed to as a sample of American civilization, with- 
out considering that such things take place only in the west- 
ern cow-boy or mining life, the daj'^s of which will soon be- 
long to the past. And if an immigrant, who, deservedly or 
undeservedly, has been unsuccessful writes a letter to his old 
home and slanders America, how eager the newspapers are 
to rush into print with it. Even if the man has been here 
only a few months, and seen only a small spot of the country, 
they are still ready to accept his story as reliable testimony, 



302 Story of an Emigrant. 

and judge the wliole country accordingly. But this by no 
means applies to Sweden and the Swedish press alone; it 
may with equal truth be said of the Europeans and the press 
of Europe generally. 

There is no gainsaying the fact, however, that new- 
comers as a rule must expect adversity and difficulty on 
account of being strangers, and because of their unfamil- 
iarity with the English language. And such as are unac- 
customed to manual labor and have not learned a trade 
stand a poor chance, especially in the beginning. Book 
learning is of little use at first, for there is no lack of educat- 
ed people in America. Hence it is a great mistake for young 
men with nothing but an education to depend upon to come 
here with the expectation of making a fortune, for the only 
way to success will at first generally be by taking hold of 
the spade or the axe. Have they the courage to do this? Then 
let them come, for opportunities w^ill open after a while to 
those who shall deserve them. Certificates of character and 
recommendation are here of little value; titles and family 
connections of still less. One cares not much for what you 
have been ; but only for what you are. 

In th,t last civil war a young German officer came to Pres- 
ident Lincoln and offered his services as a volunteer in the 
army. The man had high recommendations, and talked a 
great deal about his noble birth, and even intimated that 
royal blood was flowing through his veins. Having patient- 
ly listened to all this, Lincoln, putting his hand on the young 
man's shoulder, said, encouragingly : " Don't let this trouble 
3'ou, my friend, for I assure you that if you only do your duty 
well and faithfully, these things will be no impediment to your 
success. We are not so unjust in America as to think less of 
a man on account of his European titles. No, I can assure 
3'ou that you have precisely the same chance for advance- 
ment and success as if you had been a man of the people, 



Story of an Emigrant. 303 

provided you prove as competent and meritorious as one 
of them." 

I have often heard Europeans wonder how it is that with 
such a democratic spirit so many American heiresses seem 
anxious to marry European noblemen. But it should be re- 
membered in the first place that there are not many, but com- 
paratively only a few^ who manifest this desire, and also that 
those few by no means represent public opinion here. On 
the other hand, is it not quite natural that when European 
gentlemen of the highest classes meet and get acquainted 
with American girls, their social and intellectual equals, that 
a mutual attachment may in most cases be the true motive 
for such alliances ? For, as the grand Lincoln remarked, 
when the European nobleman possesses all other requisite 
qualifications his titles are no barrier to his success, either in 
the army, in business affairs, or with the fair sex. Old 
names and titles are usually a guaranty of good education, 
culture, and other praiseworthy acquisitions. 

In my contact with the world and with men of different 
peoples and races, I have found that it is unjust to judge them 
by nations or classes, as if one nation or one class Avere 
necessarily better or worse than others, for there are both 
good and bad characters among all, and a good man is 
just as good, and a bad one just as bad, whether he be Hin- 
doo, Mohammedan, or Christian, American or Swede, no- 
bleman or peasant. Much good may be hidden under a 
coarse and common exterior, and -wg must not search for 
virtue only among the accomplished, the rich, and the fine- 
looking. Just as much, indeed, isfoundamongthelowlyand 
unobserved; and in the quiet, humble daily walks of life are 
constantly enacted deeds of heroism and virtue which arc 
never known or applauded by the world, though fully as de- 
serving as many of those which are given an honored place 
in the annals of history ; yes, often much more so. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

REVIEW. 



A few weeks ago I made a short visit to Vasa, our first 
home in Minnesota. The occasion was the eighty-seventh 
birthday of my mother, who still lives near the old home- 
stead.* With spirited horses I drove in company with a son 
and a grandson over the same road which was first marked 
out by our simple ox wagon thirty-eight years before. 

What a change! The former wilderness changed into 
smiling fields dressed in the purest green of early summer, 
and along the whole road are fine homes, nearly all of which 
belong to Sw^edish-Americans, who commenced their career 
as poor immigrants like myself, or to their children, most of 
whom are to the manor-born. 

We stop twelve miles from Red Wing close to our old farm, 
at a little cottage surrounded b}-- tall trees. There, by the 
window, sits greatgrandma, watching eagerly for someone 
whom she knows always spends that day with her. 

Close to the quiet home stands the large Lutheran church, 
one of the finest country churches in America, and to the 
peaceful cemetery surrounding it we all soon make a pilgrim- 
age to scatter flowers on the graves where my good father 
and sister, my wife's parents, sister, and many other near 
relatives have found a resting place. The little cemetery is 
clothed in a flowery carpet of nature's own garb, and stud- 

•Since dead. 



Story of an Emigrant. 305 

ded with several hundred marble monuments with inscrip- 




^ >^ 



SWEDISH CHUKCH IN VASA. 



tions that testify to the Swedish ancestry of those who rest 
under them. 

20 



306 Story of an Emigrant. 

From this place, which is the most elevated point in Vasa, 
the surrounding country affords a picture of such rural 
peace and beauty, that even a stranger must involuntarily 
pause to wonder and admire ; how much more, then, I, who 
was the first white man that trod this ground! Below, 
toward the south, we see the wooded valley, watered by a 
little creek from Willard's spring, where we came near per- 
ishing that cold January night in 1854; at the head of the 
valley, the hill where we built the first log cabin ; immedi- 
ately beyond this hill the hospitable home of my wife's par- 
ents, from which I brought my young bride to our own 
happy little home, which stood on another bilinear the same 
spring, and of which a part still remains; here, just below 
the church, is the field I first plowed ; over there in the grove 
where we cut logs and fencing material, stands now the 
orphan home, established by Rev. E. Norelius ; and on the 
other side the road is his handsome residence and garden, 
but he himself sits inside, frail and suffering on account of 
the hardships of the first few years. 

Close by are the post-ofiice, two stores, a blacksmith shop, 
a school-house, two smaller churches, one Methodist and 
one Baptist, and several other public and private buildings, 
and a few miles farther north, near the Cannon river, are 
two railroads, running from the Mississippi westward, con- 
necting with other roads which span the continent, and only 
terminate on the shores of the Pacific ocean. 

All around, so far as the eye can see, are green fields, graz- 
ing herds of cattle, planted and natural groves, comforta- 
ble buildings, and great v\rhite-painted school-houses. Not 
a hill, not a valley or a grove but they call forth touching 
recollections, some mingled with sorrow and pain, but byfar 
the most bright and cheerful ; for here I spent the first hope- 
ful years of my manhood ; here w^e lived, the first Swedes in 
Minnesota, in a circle of innocent and faithful friends ; here I 



Story of an Emigrant. 307 

won the wife who tenderly and faithfully has shared the vi- 
cissitudes of life with me, in sorrow and in joy ever the same; 
here those of my countrymen who followed me when I was 
yet but a youth, have acquired independence, happiness, and 
such esteem that the settlement of Yasa has a reputation 
among the communities of the state which reflects honor up- 
on the memory of the great king whose name it bears. 

But this picture of development, culture and progress is 
not confined to this settlement, for countless other Scandi- 
navian settlements in the west and northwest have made as 
great progress within a comparatively short time. 

On my arrival in 1852 the Mississippi river was the north- 
western boundary line of civilization with the exception of 
the state of Iowa, which then had only a small population. 
Since that time twelve new states further west have been 
peopled and admitted into the Union. There was no rail- 
road west of Chicago ; now the immense distance between 
the Mississippi and the Pacific ocean is spanned by four 
giant railroads, while more than a hundred trunk and branch 
lines intersect the country in all directions, and lakes and 
rivers are navigated by hundreds of steamers, which com- 
pete with the railroads in carrying the products of the West 
to the Atlantic, whence they are distributed over the whole 
civilized world. 

Hundreds of cities that did not exist, even by name, have 
since sprung up as if by magic, and some of them have al- 
ready become renowned throughout the world for their in- 
dustry, commerce and culture. Among them are Min- 
neapolis and St. Paul, already intertwining their 
arms around each other in an embrace that will 
soon unite them into one. The former did not exist 
when I first gazed on St. Anthony falls, which now furnishes 
motive power for its magnificent mills and factories, and the 
latter was a town of about two thousand inhabitants. 



*)" 




Story of an Emigrant. 309 

Their combined population is no^;v one-third of a million. 
St. Paul contains a large number of Scandinavians, but 
Minneapolis seemsto be their favoritecity, the Swedes alone 
numbering over forty thousand. They have many churches, 
l)rivate schools, academies and other institutions of learning. 

The three Scandinavian nationalities agree pretty well in 
our good state, and have united their efforts in several enter- 
prises of some magnitude. In Minneapolis there are several 
banks and other monetary institutions owned and controlled 
by them, not to mention hundreds of other important com- 
mercial and manufacturing establishments due to the enter- 
prise of our countrymen. Having gradually learned the 
language and the ways of this country, a surprisingly large 
number of the Scandinavians who began their career as 
common laborers have engaged successfully in business on 
their own account, and many have devoted themselves to 
professions demanding a higher education, which is greatly 
facilitated by a number of excellent academies and colleges 
established and supported by them in several of the western 
states. A great number of county offices are filled by the 
Scandinavian- Americans ; in our legislature there are general- 
ly from thirty to forty members of that nationality ; many of 
them have occupied positions of the highest trust and honor 
as officers of the state and of the United States, and no one 
can deny the fact that they have universally proved them- 
selves fully equal in ability and trust-worthiness to the 
native born. 

But it is not only in Minneapolis or in Minnesota, but 
throughout the whole country that the Scandinavians hare 
gained such a good name, that in all the recent agitation 
against foreign emigrants, not one voice has been heard 
against them. They learn the English language well and 
quickly, and assimilate readily with the native American ele- 
ment, which is natural enough considering that they are to 



310 Story of an Emigrant. 

a very large extent of the same blood and ancestry as the 
English people, and that the English language is borrowed 
to no small extent from the Scandinavian. 

Americans often express astonishment at the ease and cor- 
rectness with which the Scandinavian immigrants acquire 
the English language. Alittle study of philology willreadilj^ 
account for it. If we take, for instance, the names of house- 
hold goods, domestic animals, and other things appertain- 
ing to the common incidents of plain every-day life, we find 
the English words almost identical with the Scandinavian 
terms, only varying in the form of spelling or perhaps pro- 
nunciation, as those are apt to change with time and locaH- 
ty. For example: English — ox, cow, swine, cat, hound, rat, 
mouse, hen, goose, chicken; Swedish — oxe, ko, svin, katt, 
hund, rotta, mus, hona, g^s, kyckling. Of implements: 
English — wagon, plow, harrow, spade, axe, knife, kettle, pot, 
pan, cup; Swedish — wagn, plog, harf, spada, yxa, knif, kit- 
tel, potta, panna, kopp. Or the part of our own bodies, 
such as: English— hair, skin, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, lips, 
teeth, shoulders, arm, hand, finger, nail, foot, toe, etc.; 
Swedish — hS.r, skinn, ogon, nasa, oron, mun, lapp, tand, 
skuldra, arm, hand, finger, nagel, fot, and t4. Or of the oc- 
cupations of the common people, such as: English — spin, 
weave, cook, sow, sew; Swedish — spinna, vafva, koka, s^, 
sy, etc. In this connection it may not be out of place to 
quote one of England's most eminent authors and scholars, 
Edward Bulwer Lytton, who says : 

" A magnificent race of men were those war sons of the old North, whom 
our popular histories, so superficial in their accounts of this age, include 
in the common name ot the ' Danes.' 

" They replunged into barbarism the nations over which they swept ; bm 
from the barbarism they reproduced the noblest element of civilization. 
Swede, Norwegian and Dane, differing in some minor points, when close- 
ly examined, had yet one common character viewed at a distance. They 
had the same prodigious energy, the same passion for freedom, individual 
and civil, the same splendid errors in the thirst for fame and the point of 



Story of an Emigrant. 311 

honor, and above all, as a main cause of civilization, they were wonderful- 
ly pliant and malleable in their adventures with the people they overran. 

"At that time, A. D. 1055, these Northmen, under the common name of 
Danes, were peaceably settled in no less than fifteen counties in England; 
their nobles abounded in towns and cities beyond the boundaries of those 
counties, which bore the distinct appellation of Danelagh. Thej' were num- 
erous in London, in the precincts of which they had their own burial- 
place, to the chief mimicipal court of which they gave their own appella- 
tion — the Husting." 

It is, of course, impossible to ascertain the exact number 
of Scandinavians and their descendants in this country, but 
we can come very near it by studying the statistics of the 
United States treasury department, a recent report from which 
gives the number of emigrants during the last seventy years 
from Sweden and Norway as 943,330, and from Denmark as 
146,237, or a total since the year 1820 of 1,089,567; while 
the same report gives the number during the same period 
from Germany as 4,551,719; Ireland, 3,501,683; England, 
1,460,054; English Colonies, 1,029,083; Austria-Hungaria, 
464,435; Italy, 414,513; France, 370,162; Russia, 356,- 
353; Scotland, 329,192; Switzerland, 174,333. 

When we take into consideration the numerous Swedish 
colonies that settled in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New 
Jersey in the seventeenth century, and their descendants, to- 
gether with the descendants of Scandinavian emigrants of 
the last seventy years, I think it is safe to estimate the total 
population of Scandinavian descent at over four millions, or 
fully one-sixteenth of the entire population of the United 
States. The ver}'' fact that the nationality assimilates so 
readily with the native American element causes it to be 
lost sight of; and it should be so, for the only desirable 
immigrants to this country are those who cease to be for- 
eigners, and merge right into the American nation. Such are 
certainly the Scandinavians. The}' do not bring over any 
grievances from the mother country to correct or avenge, 
and there are no Clan-na-Gael, no Mafia societies among 



312 Story of an Emigrant. 

them, nor are there any anarchists or revolutionists. They 
come here to build homes for themselves and their children ; 
they are contented and grateful for the privileges of Ameri- 
can citizenship, and make themselves worthy of it by push- 
ing into the front rank in the onward march of education, 
priilanthropy and religion, as well as in material progress. 

One illustration, among many that might be given, is 
found in the report of a late conference of the Swedish 
Lutheran Church, from which it appears that they have 
now in Minnesota alone two hundred and forty-five parish- 
es, with one hundred and seventy-nine churches, valued at 
over six hundred thousand dollars, and all paid for. The 
Norwegian Lutheran Church would undoubtedly show equal 
if not better results, though I cannot give the exact figures. 

It is a great mistake which some make, to think that it 
is only for their brawn and muscle that the Northmen have 
become a valuable acquisition to the American population ; 
on the contrary, they have done and are doing as much as 
an}'- other nationality within the domain of mind and heart. 
Not to speak of the early discovery of America by the Scan- 
dinavians four hundred years before the time of Columbus, 
they can look back with proud satisfaction on the part 
they have taken in all respects to make this great republic 
what it is to-day. 

The early Swedish colonists In Delaware, Pennsylvania 
and New Jersey worked as hard for liberty and independence 
as the English did in New England and in the South. There 
were no tories among them, and when the continental con- 
gress stood wavering equal in the balance for and against 
the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, it was a 
Swede, John Morton (Mortenson), of the old Delaware 
stock, who gave the casting vote of Pennsylvania in favor 
of the sacred document. 

When nearly a century later the great rebellion burst up- 



Story of an Emigrant. 313 

on the land, a gallant descendant of the Swedes, Gen. Robert 
Anderson, met its first shock at Fort Sumter, and, 
during the bitter struggle of four years which followed, the 
Scandinavian-Americans were as true and loyal to their 
adopted country as their native-born neighbors, giving their 
unanimous support to the cause of the Union and fighting 
valiantly for it ; nor should it be forgotten that it was the 
Swede John Ericson, who, by his inventive genius, saved the 
navy and the great seaports of the United States, and that 
it was another Swede by descent. Admiral Dahlgren, who 
furnished the model for the best guns of our artillery. 
Surely love of freedom, valor, genius, patriotism and religi- 
ous fervor was not planted in America by the seeds brought 
over in the Mayflower alone. 

Yes, it is verily true that the Scandinavian immigrants, 
from the early colonists of 1638 to the present time, have 
furnished strong hands, clear heads and loyal hearts to 
the republic. They have caused the wilderness to blossom 
like the rose; they have planted schools and churches on 
the hills and in the valleys ; they have honestly and ably 
administered the public affairs of town, county and state; 
they have helped to make wise laws for their respective 
commonwealths and in the halls of congress; they have, 
with honor and ability, represented their adopted country 
abroad; they have sanctified the American soil by their 
blood, shed in freedom's cause on the battle-fields of the 
revolution and the civil war; and though proud of their 
Scandinavian ancestry, they love America and American 
institutions as deeply and as truly as do the descendants 
of the Pilgrims, the starry emblem of liberty meaning 
as much to them as to any other citizen. 

Therefore, the Scandinavian-American feels a certain sense 
of ownership in the glorious heritage of American soil, with 
its rivers, lakes, mountains, valleys, woods and prairies, and 



314 Story of an Emigrant. ^ ^ *■ ^I^ 

in all its noble institutions ; and he feels that the blessings 
which he enjo\^s are not his by favor or sufferance, but by 
right; by moral as well as civil right. For he took posses- 
sion of the wilderness, endured the hardships of the pioneer, 
contributed his full share toward the grand results accom / 
plished, and is in mind and heart a true and loyal American 
citiiien. 



THE END. 



